Day 2 Stumps England 232 v New Zealand 153/4

Day 2 as it happened

England resumed on 160/4 the new ball did the damage this morning

Lunch report: England 209 for 8 (Bairstow 29*, Finn 2*)

Good things come to those who wait. New Zealand's diligence and discipline was handsomely rewarded on the second morning at Lord's as they jolted England with a burst of wickets. Tim Southee broke the deadlock with two wickets in two balls and suddenly, in a game that had crept along, England had lost four for nine in 17 balls with Neil Wagner extracting a brace for himself.

England's scoring rate again never got out of first gear with 49 runs coming in the session of 24 overs - a dire over-rate. It will be a much-debated point as to whether they were not allowed to progress any quicker or did not do enough to put the pressure back on New Zealand. It has certainly not been a dynamic statement from the home side. Brendon McCullum was able to maintain attacking fields because his bowlers rarely strayed, except for the occasional leg-side delivery from Southee - and one of those brought success.

 

Joe Root had played very solidly, as much as any of the top order, on his first appearance at Lord's until glancing Southee past his hip where BJ Watling, excellent behind the stumps, took the catch diving to his left. In New Zealand, and on the first day here, Southee bowled without the luck his efforts deserved so no one can begrudge him a change in fortune. It was, though, a tough way to depart for Root who had played another mature innings. For the first time ever, four of England's top five had fallen for scores between 31 and 40.

If the ball to claim Root was not the best Southee had bowled, the delivery to trap Prior was certainly up there; an off-cutter (or at least a scrambled seam) that gripped slightly on the surface to beat the inside edge in front of middle and leg. Prior, named England's Player of the Year on Monday, opted for a review and while the decision was not plumb, "umpires' call" on hitting was enough for Southee and New Zealand. When collecting his award on Monday, Prior did note how "fickle" the game can be.

 

Stuart Broad survived the hat-trick ball as it slid wide of off stump, but not much longer. His part in the match-saving heroics at Auckland was all the more surprising because of the demise in his batting over the last months. On this occasion he was stone dead lbw to Wagner (so much so that even Broad knew he couldn't ask for a review) as he was beaten by a full delivery that straightened but he did not give himself the best chance to survive by aiming towards square leg.

Although Wagner sprayed the occasional ball outside off he found the most movement of the three quicks during a spell where he charged in from the Nursery End. He was quickly in the face of Graeme Swann - who was welcomed back to Test cricket with a couple of sharp bouncers having had the temerity to drive a boundary through point - but it was another full delivery that ended his brief stay and gave Watling his fourth catch.

 

Jonny Bairstow watched from the non-striker's end. While Root was with him, the Yorkshire pair had battled against the new ball which was taken first thing and hinted at a touch more proactivity in the running between wickets. Bairstow did not exude the same solidity of his county team-mate, but did produce a couple of strong straight drives that defied the slow outfield. He was left doing what he could with the tail for company.

 

Afternoon session: Eng 232 (112.2 ovs) (221/9 Finn lbw b Southee 4, 232 Bairstow c&b Southee 41)

Cook	c Watling	b Boult	32
Compton	c Southee	b B Martin	16
Trott	c Brownlie	b Boult	39
Bell	c Watling	b Wagner	31
Root	c Watling	b Southee	40
Bairstow	c and b	Southee	41
Prior	lbw	b Southee	0
Broad	lbw	b Wagner	0
Swann	c Watling	b Wagner	5
Finn	lbw	b Southee	4
Anderson	not out		7
Extras		5nb 2w 1b 9lb	17
Total		all out	232

New Zealand 147/4 45 overs

Fulton	c Swann	b Anderson	2 (FOW 5/1)
Rutherford	c Cook	b Anderson	4 (FOW 7/2)

Taylor	lbw	b Anderson	66 (FOW 100/3)
Brownlie	lbw	b Finn	23 (FOW 147/4)

Tea New Zealand 54 for 2 trail England 232 (Bairstow 41, Southee 4-58) by 178 runs

 

James Anderson became the fourth England bowler, and first since in Ian Botham in 1984, to reach 300 Test wickets when he removed Peter Fulton on the second afternoon at Lord's, the ground where he made his debut 10 years ago against Zimbabwe, as England struck back after being restricted to a laborious 232.

Anderson had ended the series in New Zealand on 298 scalps and soon began closing in on the landmark when he had Hamish Rutherford well caught at first slip in the first over. Then, in his fourth over, he found the edge of Fulton's bat and the catch was held, low down, at second slip by his close friend Graeme Swann.

Overall, he was the 26th bowler to reach the milestone in Test cricket; for England the others are Fred Trueman (307), Bob Willis (325) and Botham (383). He came close to adding more, too, with the ball scooting past Ross Taylor's outside edge before the end of his opening five-over spell.

But from 7 for 2, Taylor and Kane Williamson resisted until the tea interval with what was already the highest partnership of the match. Taylor, who took a blow on the shoulder from Steven Finn, was the first batsman in the match to bat with some aggressive intent and struck six of the nine boundaries that came in New Zealand's fifty. In comparison, England struck 15 in 80 overs on the opening day.

In the field, New Zealand's diligence and discipline was handsomely rewarded either side of lunch. Tim Southee broke the deadlock with two wickets in two balls and suddenly, in a game that had crept along, England had lost 4 for 9 in 17 balls before lunch with Neil Wagner extracting a brace for himself before Southee claimed the last two. For the second time in two series England had begun without an individual half-century.

Brendon McCullum was able to maintain attacking fields because his bowlers rarely strayed (and England rarely attacked). Southee, who began England's slide, finished with 4 for 58 when he removed Finn and clung onto a stinging drive from top-scorer Jonny Bairstow to close the innings. In all, England's last six wickets fell for 40.

Joe Root had played very solidly, as much as any of the top order, on his first appearance at Lord's until glancing Southee past his hip where BJ Watling, excellent behind the stumps, took the catch diving to his left. In New Zealand, and on the first day here, Southee bowled without the luck his efforts deserved so no one can begrudge him a change in fortune. But it was a tough way for Root to depart who had played another mature innings. For the first time ever, for any team, four of the top five batsmen departed between 31 and 40.

If the ball to claim Root was not the best Southee had bowled, the delivery to trap Prior was certainly up there; an off-cutter (or at least a scrambled seam) that gripped slightly on the surface to beat the inside edge in front of middle and leg. Prior, named England's Player of the Year on Monday, opted for a review and while the decision was not plumb, "umpires' call" on hitting was enough for Southee and New Zealand. When collecting his award on Monday, Prior did note how "fickle" the game can be.

Stuart Broad survived the hat-trick ball as it slid wide of off stump, but not much longer. His part in the match-saving heroics at Auckland was all the more surprising because of the demise in his batting over the last months. On this occasion he was stone dead lbw to Wagner (so much so that even Broad knew he couldn't ask for a review) as he was beaten by a full delivery that straightened but he did not give himself the best chance to survive by aiming towards square leg.

Although Wagner sprayed the occasional ball outside off he found the most movement of the three quicks during a spell where he charged in from the Nursery End. He was quickly in the face of Graeme Swann - who was welcomed back to Test cricket with a couple of sharp bouncers having had the temerity to drive a boundary through point - but it was another full delivery that ended his brief stay and gave Watling his fourth catch.

Bairstow watched from the non-striker's end as he, too, reigned in a natural attacking instinct. While Root was with him, the Yorkshire pair had battled against the new ball which was taken first thing and hinted at a touch more proactivity in the running between wickets. Bairstow did not exude the same solidity of his county team-mate, but did produce a couple of strong straight drives that defied the slow outfield. He was left doing what he could with the tail for company and was just threatening to try a few more shots when he watched Southee cling onto a thumping drive.

New Zealand 153 for 4 (Taylor 66, Anderson 3-32) trail England 232 (Bairstow 41, Southee 4-58) by 79 runs

Sustained pressure with the ball and a brave counter-attacking innings from Ross Taylor meant that New Zealand continued to hold a slight advantage at Lord's, despite James Anderson's best efforts to wrestle back control with a high-class bowling display during which he claimed his 300th Test wicket.

After restricting England to 232 - scored at barely two-an-over throughout and with the last six wickets falling for 40 - New Zealand faced early problems themselves at 7 for 2 against a fired-up Anderson. By the close, which came early due to bad light, they had recovered to be 79 behind, although the loss of Dean Brownlie shortly before the end evened the scales a touch.

 

Anderson had ended the series in New Zealand on 298 scalps and soon began closing in on his landmark when he had Hamish Rutherford well caught at first slip in the first over. Then, in his fourth over, he found the edge of Peter Fulton's bat and the catch was held, low down, at second slip by his close friend Graeme Swann to become the fourth Englishman to the 300 mark.

 

It was 20 years after the previous, Ian Botham in 1984, and almost 10 years to the day since his Test debut on this ground, against Zimbabwe, in 2003. Overall, he was the 26th bowler to reach the milestone in Test cricket; for England the others are Fred Trueman (307), Bob Willis (325) and Botham (383).

 

Anderson, though, lacked support from his fellow quicks until Steven Finn, now back on his longer run, pitched the ball fuller to win an lbw against Brownlie but only after using the DRS to overturn Steve Davis' initial not-out decision.

 

Either side of tea, England were poor and New Zealand responded superbly to their early difficulties. In Taylor, they had the first batsman in the match to try and put some pressure back on the bowlers with a fifty that came off 49 balls. His innings would conclude with 13 boundaries: England hit 21 through their entire 112 overs.

 

Any error in line or length - of which there were both from Finn and Stuart Broad - was punished, but Taylor also made some calculated judgements to attack deliveries that others may have played more cautiously. With Alastair Cook knowing that he did not have a mountain of runs on the board, and unable to keep Anderson going forever, the pressure was quickly reapplied to England.

 

Although Graeme Swann gave Cook some control - and wicket-taking threat - it was no surprise that Anderson provided the lift England desperately needed. With the second ball of a new spell, this time from the Nursery End, he swung one back into Taylor's pad for which the batsman almost walked before being given.

That broke a stand of 93 in 25 overs and, though Taylor dominated, Kane Williamson more than played his part, showing his ability off the back foot. He was, though, given a life on 23 by Matt Prior - who had earlier bagged a first-ball duck to mark a tricky start to his season after being named England's player of the year - when he went one-handed for an edge off Anderson where he may have been able to use both gloves. When collecting his award on Monday, Prior did note how "fickle" the game can be.

 

This match is shaping to go against the trend of relatively high-scoring encounters at Lord's even in May. England's batting continued to be wrapped in caution after they resumed on 160 for 4 and an innings that had crept along unravelled quickly either side of lunch as New Zealand's diligence and discipline was rewarded.

 

Tim Southee broke the deadlock with two wickets in two balls to spark a slide of 4 for 9 in 17 balls before the interval, and he also claimed the final wickets to finish with 4 for 48. For the second time in two series England had begun without an individual half-century.

 

Joe Root had played very solidly, as much as any of the top order, on his first appearance at Lord's until glancing Southee past his hip where BJ Watling, excellent behind the stumps, took the catch diving to his left. In New Zealand, and on the first day here, Southee bowled without the luck his efforts deserved so no one could begrudge him a change in fortune. But it was a tough way for Root to depart after he had played another mature innings. For the first time ever, for any team, four of the top five batsmen departed between 31 and 40.

 

If the ball to claim Root was not the best Southee had bowled, the delivery to trap Prior was certainly up there; an off-cutter (or at least a scrambled seam) that gripped slightly on the surface to beat the inside edge in front of middle and leg. Prior opted for a review and while the decision was not plumb, 'umpires' call' on hitting was enough for Southee and New Zealand.

Broad survived the hat-trick ball as it slid wide of off stump, but not much longer. His part in the match-saving heroics at Auckland was all the more surprising because of the decline in his batting over the last months. On this occasion he was stone dead lbw to Wagner (so much so that even Broad knew he couldn't ask for a review) as he was beaten by a full delivery that straightened but he did not give himself the best chance to survive by aiming towards square leg.

Although Wagner sprayed the occasional ball outside off he found the most movement of the three quicks during a spell where he charged in from the Nursery End. He was quickly in the face of Swann - who was welcomed back to Test cricket with a couple of sharp bouncers having had the temerity to drive a boundary through point - but it was another full delivery that ended his brief stay and gave Watling his fourth catch.

Bairstow watched from the non-striker's end as he, too, reigned in a natural attacking instinct, but did produce a couple of strong straight drives that defied the slow outfield. He was left doing what he could with the tail for company and was just threatening to try a few more shots when he watched Southee cling onto a thumping drive.