The first Test match between England and New Zealand at cricket’s iconic Lord’s ground entered its second day on Friday with England firmly in the driver’s seat, holding a 99-run lead by the lunch interval, built on solid opening partnership work and disciplined bowling from the hosts.
New Zealand entered Friday’s play on precarious footing, resuming at 61-6 after England’s bowlers ripped through their top order on day one. It took less than an hour for the Black Caps to be bowled all out for 113, leaving England with a 27-run first innings lead despite England only managing 140 runs in their own first turn at the crease. The final four New Zealand batters put on a defiant 84 runs to push the team past 100 after they had slumped to 29-6 by Thursday evening.
The standout batting performance from New Zealand came from pace bowler Kyle Jamieson, who hit a rapid 38 runs off just 29 deliveries, including three massive sixes off England’s fast bowlers. Jamieson’s knock came after he took a blow to the helmet from Josh Tongue, and the 2.07-meter all-rounder, New Zealand’s tallest international cricketer in history, fought back courageously before he was eventually the last man out. Jamieson had already claimed a five-wicket haul in England’s first innings, making his performance all the more impactful despite his team’s poor overall batting result.
England finished the New Zealand innings with a dominant bowling display, led by Ollie Robinson, who claimed outstanding test-best figures of 5-39. This marked Robinson’s first five-wicket haul in international test cricket since 2022, and his first at Lord’s, a remarkable achievement on his welcome return to the test side. Tongue chipped in with 3 wickets for 40 runs, while fellow fast bowler Gus Atkinson took 2 wickets for just 9 runs to wrap up the New Zealand innings quickly.
By lunch, England had extended their overall lead to 99, reaching 72-1 after 15 overs in their second innings. England’s opening batsmen Ben Duckett and newcomer Emilio Gay put on a valuable opening stand of 52 runs on a pitch that still offered significant assistance to fast bowlers, especially under overcast conditions that helped swing the ball. Stadium floodlights were switched on at midday due to the gloomy weather.
Duckett survived multiple early scares: he was dropped on 12 by Rachin Ravindra off Jamieson’s bowling, a routine catch at short midwicket that the New Zealand fielder put down, and he also picked up a finger injury after being hit by a delivery. The left-handed opener hit consecutive boundaries off New Zealand pace man Matt Henry, who had been restricted by back spasms on Thursday, but he eventually fell for 33, edging a delivery from Will O’Rourke into the hands of the fielder at gully.
Henry, despite his back issues, batted on Friday and passed a fitness test bowling between innings to take the ball for New Zealand. Emilio Gay, who scored 8 runs in England’s first innings, remained unbeaten on 24 at the lunch interval, with Jacob Bethell not out on 8 at the other end. Gay also hit Henry for back-to-back boundaries late in the opening session to cap a strong morning for the hosts.