Tim Southee’s six-wicket haul has again put New Zealand in the commanding position against hosts England in the first Test at the Lord’s Cricket Stadium.
The Kiwi pace spearhead went on a roll against England’s lower order to wrap up the innings at 275 in response to the visitors’ 378.
His 6-43 dismantled the English batting line-up after Kyle Jamieson dismissed captain Joe Root on the first ball of the day. Root returned to the hut without adding any run to his overnight score of 42.
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With an advantage of 103 runs, Kiwis seem favourite to clinch the opening Test against Root’s men. Rory Burns scored a sublime 132 in the first innings, but lack of support from the other end contained England from scoring 300+ runs.
As for Kane Williamson’s side, Jamieson bowled in the right patches to support Southee at best. Apart from the England captain, he claimed scalps of Dominic Sibley and Mark Wood.
Absence of Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer seems to be evident for the Englishmen. The duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad failed to dent the Kiwi hopes in the first inning. Anderson picked two wickets, but Broad is still searching for his first wicket in the Test,.
As of now, Kiwis are 50/1 in the second inning. Devon Conway fell to Ollie Robinson after scoring 23.