After three days of absurdist back and forth, the first Test ended with England calmly and efficiently knocking off the runsWhen the Jubilee Line tube is within a few stops of St John’s Wood on a Lord’s weekend, there tends to be some indistinguishable moment the personnel completely changes. Should you drift into your phone for a fraction too long you might then look back up and the general public throng will have been replaced by men in tailored suits, one arm holding on to the rails, staring each other square in the eyes, networking intent lurking underneath the gleam. This year New Zealand fans are there too, in 20‑year‑old Black Cap shirts as a sign they come in peace,...
The former captain can now concentrate on his batting and he produced the most enjoyable of his 26 centuries for EnglandThe rain was hard enough to wake the sleeping on Sunday morning, and it was easy to imagine the players were up early to check the weather. It looked a good day for bowling – damp, dark and overcast, as if the English summer had got lost somewhere in the west after sunset the previous evening and was still trying to find its way back around to the ground. Tim Southee and Trent Boult, who have played a lot of cricket here in the past 14 years, knew that conditions don’t get much better for men in their line of...
The towering bowler’s almost mythic qualities will be a major hurdle for England to negotiate if they are to win at Lord’sIt was around a quarter to five, with Joe Root and Ben Stokes settling in and nerves just beginning to jangle, that Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports urged New Zealand to bring Kyle Jamieson back into the attack. Alas, on this occasion his timing was slightly unfortunate. For as the camera homed in on Jamieson at long-leg, the giant fast bowler was just in the process of stifling a large yawn.You couldn’t blame him, really. For one thing, he had already put in quite the shift earlier in the afternoon: eight back-breaking overs that had ripped out England’s top...
Veteran seamer silences those who openly doubted his continuing desire for Test cricket with a match-turning burstStuart Broad did not want to be batting on Friday morning. But the previous evening England had collapsed, again, five wickets for eight runs this time, and dumped him right back into the thick of it. So here he was. England were 116 for seven, still 16 runs behind, and Trent Boult was bowling. Broad walloped his first ball for four, then turned the next away for a single.Ben Foakes played out the rest of the over so Broad was facing Tim Southee now. He hit another four, down the ground, then he took a swing at the next delivery and missed it altogether....
Lord’s works the senses so thoroughly that attendees of England v New Zealand barely notice it working their walletsThe second evening at Lord’s, and the day has begun to sag a little. The cricket begins to lose its grip on you, a day of breezy sunshine has made you sleepy, and so you decide to stretch your legs and take a stroll. You stop for a cup of tea, which costs £3.10. Tap. Bleep. The tea merely draws attention to your empty stomach and so you join the ragged queue for a portion of fish and chips at £12.50. Tap. Bleep.You walk a little longer, past the pasty stall, past the gin concession, past the souvenir shop and Great British...