England vs New Zealand: Boult, Southee keep England in check

England 160/4 80 Overs (Trent Boult 2-29)

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The pre-match talk was about the amount of swing at Lords. Stuart Broad also hoped for swing at Lords, which would make life difficult for the batsmen. Tim Southee and Trent Boult swung the new-ball and kept the check on Alastair Cook and Nick Compton. Tim Southee was able to bring the ball into the left-hander and he was also able to deviate the ball away from the right hander. Alastair Cook wasn’t able to middle the ball on many occasions. His partner Nick Compton was able to strike the new-ball despite the lateral movement of the surface. The first boundary was scored by Cook in the seventh over, but they could not carry on with the momentum as the out-field was slow due to rain.

The duo played four maiden overs continuously and that mounted the pressure on Nick Compton to score the runs. However, Nick Compton was removed by Martin just before lunch as the latter attemped inside out shot and in the end held out Tim Southee at point. Jonathan Trott joined Alastair Cook, but he was also not scoring at a brisk rate.

England went into lunch at 57/1 with Cook and Trott at the centre. Even after lunch, Cook did not find the middle of the bat. McCullum marshalled his troops effectively as he shuffled his strike bowlers and kept the England batsmen in check. Tim Southee wasn’t used for first 8 overs after lunch. But he used Trent Boult continuously for seven overs as he was troubling the English batsmen with his swing. He claimed two wickets – Cook and Trott and had England on the backfoot.

Joe Root was required to put in a big performance together with Ian Bell. Ian Bell was timing the ball nicely while Joe Root was struggling for momentum. New Zealand spinners Martin and Williamson made use of the slow pitch effectively, and kept the check on the run-flow. Also, Tim Southee was sensational with the ball as he did not offer enough room for the English batsmen. Ian Bell and Joe Root, therefore, found it difficult to accelerate the scoring rate.

England went into tea at 113/3 with Joe Root and Ian Bell at the centre. But after tea it was spinners turn. Martin troubled Ian Bell and Joe Root with his variations. Ian Bell, on two occasions charged down the track to clobber him over midwicket, but on both occasions he was completely decieved by the turn. Joe Root was able to offer resistance to Martin and took the attack to him. He has been familiar with the conditions at Lords as he has scored a century in County Championship match. But he could not progress with the innings when McCullum brought Boult towards the end of the innings.

Clearly, this showed the inability of the English batsmen to handle swing bowling. They never pressurised the New Zealand fielders. They didn’t convert the singles into doubles and two’s into three’s. Therefore, New Zealand thought that they could dominate the day by having the fielders around the bat. McCullum had one man at fine-leg to cut-off the boundary. The rest of them were around the bat. He had three slips and a gully. He also had a man at backward point as there was seam movement of the surface. However, rain-stopped the proceedings on Day 1 with 10 overs left.

England batsmen need to switch the gears on Day 2 if they are to pose a threat to the Black Caps. There was some rough patches on the wicket and that means Graeme Swann could come to the party on Day 2. Joe Root and Bairstow have to score at a brisk rate. There is possibility of showers towards the end of the play. So, England has to score minimum of 350 runs so that Swann’s effort becomes meaningful.