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...
Test captain Ben Stokes turned to his side’s replacement spinner on day two against New Zealand – with mixed resultsBy three o’clock in the afternoon the match was just starting to drag. The first day and a half of this Test unspooled at such a frantic pace that the burgeoning stand between Tom Blundell and Daryl Mitchell seemed to make everyone feel a little restless and uncomfortable, as if Lord’s was caught in an awkward silence that had stretched on too long.They’d only been going an hour, routine business in any other Test, but this one’s run in fast forward. The way they’ve been going at about it in this match makes Test cricket feel like trying to ride a...
Bowling attack of two old masters and one new star undo New Zealand before hosts’ batsmen come unstuck themselvesA reverend, a rabbi and a Buddhist nun walked into Lord’s. No joke. They were all taking part in a multi‑faith celebration of cricket organised during the lunch interval by the England and Wales Cricket Board’s outgoing CEO, Tom Harrison. It was billed as a demonstration of English cricket’s ability to bring people together. Out on the field, England’s bowlers were doing a pretty good job of that too.The stands were full, the sun was out, and the grass underneath it brilliant green. Jimmy Anderson was on from one end, Stuart Broad the other, the slips were catching bullets and New Zealand...
MCC wanted pomp and patriotism, but on a breathless day of action it was the cricket that took centre stageAs the wickets clattered across a wild, error‑strewn opening day of England’s international summer, the cricket offered more than enough entertainment to engross a near-capacity crowd at Lord’s. Which was perhaps just as well, given that the promised sideshows proved underwhelming.Attendees had been asked to wear the colours of the British flag, and perhaps there were a few more union jack jackets and ties than on a typical day at the Test, a scattering of patriotic formalwear to clash with MCC’s traditional bacon and eggs, but of the expected off-field themes jubilee-weekend enthusiasm was as hard to spot as the heavily...