As it happened – England vs New Zealand, 1st Test, Lord's, 4th day

All the updates, news and stats from day four of the first Test at Lord’s

Alan Gardner05-Jun-2021*Most recent entry will appear at the top, please refresh your page for the latest updates. All times are local7.10pm: StumpsKane Williamson and Tom Latham talk between overs•AFP/Getty ImagesHaving come into this Test as the No. 2-ranked side, and preparing to contest the inaugural World Test Championship final later this month, it perhaps should not come as a surprise to learn that New Zealand have controlled this game. Were it not for the fact that the entire third day was lost to rain, they would be well on their way to winning at Lord’s for only the second time 18 attempts.Tim Southee bowled with skill and guile to claim a six-wicket haul – the second time he had done so at this ground – and it took a doughty century from Rory Burns to keep England clinging on by their fingertips.The visitors still claimed a 103-run lead on first innings, but Burns’ defiance and a pair of fighting stands with the lower order kept them in the field until tea. Had Burns been stumped off Mitchell Santner on 77, England would have been 193 for 7 and New Zealand might have had a genuine window of opportunity.As it was, New Zealand adopted a circumspect approach to their second innings. Devon Conway took his match tally to 223 runs – the most by an opener on Test debut – before being bowled off an inside edge by Ollie Robinson, who also removed Kane Williamson lbw for 1. With 62 runs being scored from 30 overs, the chances of either side being able to set up the game on day five receded.6.40pm: A tale of two reviewsIt’s quiet, too quiet… but then Robinson raps Williamson on the pads twice in two balls. The first one is given out by Richard Kettleborough, only for Williamson to successfully overturn it because of an inside edge. Next delivery, Robinson’s length caught the New Zealand captain on the crease again; this one wasn’t given, but ball-tracking had it hitting the top of leg stump! Williamson goes, quite possibly wondering how the margins have worked against him there, and Robinson has his sixth wicket in the match.6.32pm: Easy like Saturday eveningStuart Broad looks on•AFP/Getty ImagesNew Zealand seem happy enough with playing their normal game here – and there are more important challenges to come on this tour, of course. This could be time in the middle well spent. Four leg byes took the score past 50, while Kane Williamson was happy to wait until his 16th ball before getting off the mark with a punch for one. James Anderson has switched ends again – he started from the Pavilion and is now operating from the Nursery – and succeeded in getting the ball changed, but not much more than that.6.05pm: Robinson on targetOllie Robinson is jubilant after dismissing Devon Conway•AFP/Getty ImagesNo sooner had I written about how secure they were looking, than the openers have been separated – and it is Ollie Robinson, continuing an impressive debut, who nibbles one back to clip Conway’s inside edge and ping the off bail. The debutant proves mortal, a similar dismissal to Latham’s in the first innings. But he’s already more than earned his corn here, to be fair.ESPNcricinfo Ltd6pm: Opening gambitDevon Conway flicks one away•Getty ImagesMark Wood has come into the attack for England, looking to force an opening with his extra pace. Ollie Robinson is operating at the other end. But Devon Conway – who now has the most runs in a Test by an opener on debut – and Tom Latham have struck up another solid partnership together, after a half-century in the first innings, intent on not giving anything away.5.35pm: Burns’ rescue actRory Burns walks off the field after scoring 132•AFP via Getty ImagesIt looks like NZ will have to go some to put pressure on England from here – and for that, Joe Root has Rory Burns to thank.
He does. It was an odd innings, in a way. It wasn’t pretty and there were times it wasn’t especially convincing. But take his century away and England were in real trouble in this game. Nobody else made more than 42. England really needed that innings. And Burns, who hadn’t made 35 in his 8 most recent Test innings, needed it, too.As well as NZ and Tim Southee bowled, the fact Ollie Robinson scored more than five of the top seven combined must be a wee bit worrying for England?
I suppose we need to remember that this is the youngest top seven England have fielded in a home Test. And you would expect players to make mistakes as they learn. But yes, some of the shot selection – by Lawrence and Crawley, in particular – was a concern, while Bracey was bowled through the gate and Pope fell over to the off side a bit. So it’s a reminder of where England are as a Test side: they have a pretty young and inexperienced batting line-up with a lot to do. But they are, give or take, the best selections available to England and they probably need to stick with them to get the best out of them. But yes, this game has pretty much played out as the rankings might suggest: England have a bit to learn from New Zealand.Final thought for now – can NZ still win this?
I guess you can’t rule it out completely but… it would take a pretty dramatic passage of play. Burns, especially, took so much time out of the game that you would think they would have less than two sessions to bowl England out even if they are able to score quickly enough to set-up a declaration. As they’re currently progressing at a rate under two-an-over, that looks unlikely. And you can’t see them giving England a chance with an overly generous declaration, can you? Why would they? The game’s unpredictability is one of its great charms. But you suspect that day lost to the rain has cost New Zealand.5.18pm: New-ball battleEngland have burned two of their three reviews – and had another turned down on umpire’s call – in the opening exchanges. James Anderson and Stuart Broad have bowled well, but not got one to stick, as yet.