London :Â The first seven sessions of this Test saw the fall of 23 wickets. The next two yielded just a solitary wicket as Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell put on an exhibition on the second day with the bat to completely change the complexion of the game and put New Zealand on top at Lord’s.
The two batters were involved in a massive century stand that took the lead beyond the 200-run mark and with the surface appearing to have eased out completely, more agony might be in store for the home side. New Zealand, on expected lines, didn’t take a long time to get the job done in the morning as England’s plans to bat long suffered an early blow when Tim Southee managed to castle Stuart Broad.
The left-hander fetched a boundary earlier but his aggressive approach resulted in him losing his leg stump soon after. Key batter Ben Foakes was the next to depart as he pushed an outswinger to edge behind to the slip cordon. Matthew Parkinson, the concussion substitute, managed to help England gain a nine-run first innings lead before landing a few blows with the ball again like he did in the first innings.
The debutant struck twice after James Anderson had opened the floodgates by removing Will Young. Kane Williamson’s wretched form continued and Tom Latham didn’t last long either.