New Zealand duo close in on centuries to put England on back foot

England’s inspiration ran dry on day two of the first Test as an emphatic near double-century stand between Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell put New Zealand in control at Lord’s.

After a frenetic first day that saw that saw 17 wickets fall, another seven were added to the tally before the Black Caps’ fifth-wicket pair settled in for what could go down as a match-winning stay.

Coming together with their side struggling at 56 for four – just 47 ahead – they put on an unbroken 180 to move their side 227 ahead at stumps. Mitchell ended the day on 97 not out, three short of a well-deserved century at the home of cricket, with Blundell on 90 in an imposing total of 236 for four.

Their partnership was an exemplary display of calm accumulation, with the pitch flattening out and the home attack unable to whip itself into action.

After a strong start, the core seam unit struggled to part the Kiwis’ middle-order pairing, who shut down the vastly experienced James Anderson and Stuart Broad before finally showing impressive debutant Matthew Potts that Test cricket was not quite as simple as he might have thought.

The Durham quick began by removing visiting captain Kane Williamson for the second time in as many days and took his match tally to six when opener Tom Latham nicked off.

New captain Ben Stokes was expensive at more than five an over and there was an inconclusive first look at England’s first-ever concussion substitute Matt Parkinson.

Having raced down the motorway from Manchester to replace Jack Leach on Thursday afternoon, the Lancashire leg-spinner finally got a long-awaited chance to prove his abilities to bamboozle county batters could translate to the highest level.

He started nicely, landing his first few leg-breaks in