Joe Root stands firm to give England hope of overhauling New Zealand

Anyone travelling to Lord’s for the fourth day of this first Test is advised to arrive early. Likewise those tuning in at home. A classic finish awaits and, given a series opener that has lurched one way and then the other, there promises to be more twists to come.

The equation could scarcely be on more of a knife-edge, even if the conclusion is likely to be swift. England are chasing 277 to start the reign of Ben Stokes with a win and will resume on 216 for five, with Joe Root unbeaten on 77 and 61 runs required. The former captain looks in prime touch and has Ben Foakes for company on nine.

But New Zealand, chasing just a second Test victory at Lord’s and a first since 1999, know that an early strike will expose an English tail which starts at No 8 with the first of four rabbits. Their attack, though shorn of Colin de Grandhomme after an apparent hamstring injury, will be refreshed after a night’s sleep and still features the hulking threat of Kyle Jamieson, who boasts current figures of four for 59.

So much rests on the shoulders of Root, but then when has it not over the past 18 months? The Yorkshireman emerged from the old pavilion at 2.25pm with the scorecard a familiar 32 for two, but over the course of two sessions he provided a soothing presence for those of a nervous disposition. Get his side over the line and it will probably taste as sweet as any of the 27 victories he secured in his old job.

Root was also one half of a fifth-wicket stand of 90 with Stokes that helped England push back against the marauding Jamieson. This owed plenty to a huge slice of good fortune early on, Stokes chopping De Grandhomme’s medium pace on to his stumps just one run into an eventual score of 54, only to discover his fellow