New Zealand 113 (Robinson 5-39). 36 for 3 (Conway 12*) need 218 more runs to beat England 140 (Brook 56, Jamieson 5-62) and 226 (Gay 57, Smith 6-70)
After a 16-wicket opening day of the English Test summer. a further 17 fell on the second on an up-and-down Lord's surface that left batters guessing. Despite a mid-afternoon wobble when they lost four wickets in 11 balls. England ended it firmly on top by striking three early blows to New Zealand 's attempts to chase 254 in the fourth innings.
A wicket has fallen every 25 balls across the first two days - with 11 batters out bowled. nine lbw - and neither captain has seen fit to use a spinner on a pitch defined by its variable bounce. Emilio Gay 's 57 on Test debut is the highest score on either side so far,. he would have been out lbw to Matt Henry for 24 if Tom Latham had reviewed the on-field decision.
Henry was limited to four overs on the opening day by back spasms. New Zealand's three other quicks shouldered a heavy workload as a result. But his only wicket summed up the challenge for batters: the ball shot low from a good length. sneaking under the toe-end of Jacob Bethell's bat to knock back his off stump.
Ollie Robinson. the protagonist of the opening day in reducing New Zealand to 29 for 6 with a superb new-ball burst on his comeback to Test cricket, led England off after just under an hour on the second morning after completing his first five-wicket haul in four years. Their first-innings lead stood at 29 after Kyle Jamieson's three sixes put a small dent in the deficit.
Glenn Phillips had counterattacked on the first evening. lost his off stump to Josh Tongue's first ball of the morning. Tongue struck again in his second over when Nathan Smith left one that jagged back sharply, Atkinson bluffed Will O'Rourke with a full ball that he edged to slip,. Robinson roared in celebration after knocking back Henry's middle stump.
Gay's maiden Test innings had lasted only 14 balls as Jamieson worked him over, but he played tightly. patiently in his second in adding 52 with Ben Duckett. He slowly went through the gears after a cautious start. reaching an 84-ball half-century when taking 16 runs off a Smith over. That made Gay the first England opener to reach 50 on debut since Keaton Jennings in Mumbai 10 years ago;. the first at home since Andrew Strauss in 2004.
But New Zealand will rue a series of missed opportunities. Rachin Ravindra. Devon Conway both dropped catches for the second day in a row - Ravindra shelled Duckett at short midwicket, and Conway gave Bethell a life at gully - while Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham left a slip catch for one another when Henry found Gay's outside edge.
Duckett made 33 before slicing O'Rourke to gully while camped on the back foot expecting a short ball before Henry's daisy-cutter did for Bethell, but it was Gay's dismissal - fiddling Smith's outswinger behind - that prompted England's collapse: Harry Brook. Joe Root were pinned lbw, while Ben Stokes lost his off stump to Smith as 126 for 2 became 127 for 6 in 11 balls.
It took a 57-run stand between Jamie Smith. Atkinson - the highest partnership of the match - to drag England's lead past 200. Smith, promoted above Stokes to No. 6, was bowled shouldering arms in the first innings but played with far more conviction in the second, driving Henry to both the cover. mid-off boundaries in the over before tea.
Atkinson miscued a flat-batted swat straight up to be caught-and-bowled by Jamieson. Robinson took over from him by swiping at New Zealand's short balls. Nathan Smith was rewarded when he went fuller, bowling both his namesake Jamie. Tongue before Robinson's heave to midwicket gave him a second successive six-wicket haul.
It left New Zealand needing the highest score of the match to secure only their second win at Lord's. while higher targets than 253 have been hauled in across the previous 149 Tests at this ground, few of those can have been on surfaces offering fast bowlers as much encouragement as this one.
Latham decided to chance his arm. chasing Atkinson's third ball with a hard-handed drive which he steered straight to Brook at second slip. Unsurprisingly, Robinson's first over was less eventful in the second innings than his three-wicket effort in the first,. he very nearly had Kane Williamson bowled shouldering arms in his second.
Robinson was chuntering when Stokes brought the keeper up to force Williamson to stay in his crease,. his attempts to send Jamie Smith back were ignored. But the argument came to a natural end between overs as Williamson was pinned lbw by Tongue, reviewing only in desperation as his fifth. likely final Test at Lord's ended with scores of 0 and 18.
O'Rourke was given the unenviable task of walking out as nightwatcher,. lasted six balls before he was castled by Atkinson. Devon Conway. who reached the close unbeaten on 12, will need substantial support from New Zealand's middle order to reel in the remaining 218 runs.
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