England have fought back well after letting New Zealand capitalise with the bat in the first innings of the first Test that is being played at the Lord’s Cricket Stadium.
The first two days belonged to Kiwi debutant Devon Conway who returned to the hut after scoring 200, breaking legendary KS Ranjitsinhji of registering most runs on Test debut.
The left-handed was eventually dismissed via runout by Ollie Pope. His double century propelled the visitors to 378/10.
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Henry Nicholls was another Kiwi starlet who scored a gritty 61 to put NZ in a comfortable spot. Left-arm pacer Neil Wagner’s cameo at the end was heart-breaker for the hosts.
England opener Dominic Sibley failed to open his account, while Rory Burns remains not out after scoring a half-century. Zack Crawley returned to the pavilion in a jiffy as well, scoring only 2 off 10. England captain Joe Root then steadied the ship with Burns. He remains unbeaten on 42 at the end of the third day’s play.
The hosts are 111/2 after a shaky start to the first Test. Plaging at a strike rate of merely 37, Root seems to be in the mood to extend his stay at the prestigious Lord’s pitch for as long as he can to complete the rebuilding phase.