England’s new era got off to a dream start at Lord’s as they left New Zealand in disarray at 39 for six on the first morning of the first LV= Insurance Test.
Led for the first time by the captain-coach pairing of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, with new director of cricket Rob Key also watching on, England enjoyed a glorious start at the home of cricket.
A dismal sequence of one victory in 17 attempts was banished as wickets tumbled, with returning veterans James Anderson and Stuart Broad offering reminders of their enduring class before debutant Matthew Potts took over with three wickets in his first spell in international cricket.
Jonny Bairstow, retained ahead of the in-form Harry Brook following his recent Indian Premier League stint, also played his part with three catches in the slips.
The only disappointment in the opening session came when spinner Jack Leach, making his first home appearance since 2019, injured himself in the field and withdrew from the match with symptoms of concussion. Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson was summoned as England’s first ever concussion substitute and will debut when he arrives.
Stokes’ first act as the country’s 81st Test captain was to lose the toss, but everything else fell into place as ball dominated bat in the opening exchanges.
Stokes and McCullum were both clear that recalling Anderson and Broad was their first priority of their reign, overturning a controversial decision to drop the pair in the West Indies, and 39-year-old Anderson needed just seven deliveries to reopen his record tally.
Challenging Will Young with just enough swing from a full length, he took the outside edge and saw Bairstow leap into action at third slip, diving low to his left to pull off a
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