London: England bounced back as returning paceman Ally Robinson ran through New Zealand’s top order after the hosts were bowled out for 140 on the opening day of the first Test at Lord’s on Thursday.
With 16 wickets to spare on the first day, New Zealand were 61/6 in 19.2 overs and England, 79 runs behind, Glenn Phillips and Nathan Smith remained unbeaten on 31 and 6 respectively.
Earlier, New Zealand captain Tom Latham won the toss and elected to field first, and despite Harry Brook’s half-century, England were bowled out for 140 in 39.4 overs, a result that gave the visitors the advantage.
The middle-order batsman struggled for the home side and scored a brave 56 off 71 balls with the help of 10 fours.
Apart from him Ben Duckett (19), Shoaib Basheer (14), Josh Dungu (10) and skipper Ben Stokes (12) could score double figures against a merciless bowling attack led by Kyle Jamieson who took five wickets against New Zealand.
Jamieson’s brilliance was backed up by fellow fast bowlers Nathan Smith, who claimed three wickets, while Will O’Rourke chipped in with two scalps.
In turn, Robinson dismantled New Zealand’s top order of Latham, Kane Williamson, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindran and reduced the tourists to 12/4 in 6.4 overs.
New Zealand then suffered two successive setbacks in the form of Daryl Mitchell (12) and Tom Blundell (four) and slipped further to 29/6 in 13 overs.
Following the collapse, Phillips and Smith batted valiantly to ensure New Zealand did not suffer another setback as they put on an unbeaten 32 for the seventh wicket.
For England, Robinson has claimed four wickets for just 10 runs in his six overs so far, while Gus Atkinson and Tongu have claimed one wicket each.