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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 Gardner
Alan Gardner
05-Jun-2021
Ollie Robinson celebrates dismissing Kane Williamson  •  Getty Images

Ollie Robinson celebrates dismissing Kane Williamson  •  Getty Images

Welcome to day four of our live report of the first Test between England and New Zealand from Lord's. Join us for updates, analysis and colour. You can find our traditional ball-by-ball commentary here.
*Most recent entry will appear at the top, please refresh your page for the latest updates. All times are local

7.10pm: Stumps

New Zealand 378 and 62 for 2 (Latham 30*, Robinson 2-8) lead England 275 (Burns 132, Southee 6-43) by 165 runs
Having 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 reviews

It'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 evening

New 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 target

No 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.

6pm: Opening gambit

Mark 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 act

There's still quite a bit of time left in the game this evening, with play able to go on until 7pm, but things are just drifting a touch - New Zealand's openers are playing themselves in, and England, well behind in the game, are in no rush. Anyway, here's a man who always gives 110%, England correspondent George Dobell, to cast an eye over the match situation.
It 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 battle

England 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.

4.55pm: We go again

So, what has Devon Conway got in his locker this time? New Zealand have made a quiet start to their second innings, with eight runs coming from the first five overs. There are 34 left to be bowled in the day, and you could imagine New Zealand extending their lead beyond 200... but does that leave them enough time to try and force a win tomorrow? It's one of those scenarios where getting bowled out cheaply might actually aid their chances.

4.20pm: Tea

England 275 (Burns 132, Southee 6-43) trail New Zealand 378 by 103 runs
Rory Burns' resilient hundred kept New Zealand at bay before England were dismissed for 275 at tea on the fourth day at Lord's. Tim Southee claimed a six-wicket haul to help give the tourists a first-innings lead of 103 as they maintained control during the afternoon session, despite Burns' best efforts.
Burns reached his third Test hundred with a steer for two off Neil Wagner, having been joined by the last man, James Anderson, on 91. He then opened up, striking three fours in an over from Kyle Jamieson, then launching Wagner for his first Test six to help push England past 250. Burns was eventually last man out after a stand of 52 with Anderson, feathering a catch behind to give Southee his sixth.
England were indebted to a seventh-wicket stand of 63 between Burns and Ollie Robinson for helping to narrow the deficit. Robinson became Southee's fifth wicket when he picked out Jamieson at long leg, and Mark Wood was caught behind in the following over, while Stuart Broad had his stumps rattled by Wagner the ball after pulling him for six.

4.17pm: Burns after reading

Now Burns unveils his death-overs slog-sweep against Wagner, and gets it right out of the screws into the Mound Stand. The atmosphere at Lord's has lightened a touch... ah, and then he feathers a catch behind to give Southee his sixth wicket, and end the England innings on 275.

4pm: Excellent, Mr Burns

Having reached his century, Rory Burns is now having a bit of fun, slapping boundaries off Jamieson and Wagner, and attempting to reverse-sweep Williamson. Tea was scheduled to be taken around now, but I think they are playing on with England nine down.

3.40pm: Ton for Burns

A steer down to third man and Burns is haring back to two to complete his hundred. He has properly had to fight for this, his third Test hundred - and first since Hamilton on the 2019-20 tour of New Zealand. There's been a missed stumping, a drop in the slips, plus a couple of clonks on the helmet, but it's now time to soak up the applause.
Burns is also the first England opener to score a Test century at Lord's since Alastair Cook in 2015, also versus New Zealand.

3.30pm: Punch and counterpunch!

Time for some Wagner chin music to Broad. Round the wicket with third man, fine leg, deep backward square, deep square, square leg and midwicket in place. And Broad accepts the challenge, honking a roundhouse pull all the way over deep midwicket! However, Wagner gets his revenge next ball, pegging back off stump as Broad steps away again. Job almost done for New Zealand...
Burns, meanwhile, is nine short of what would be a third Test hundred. It's been a gutsy knock with little support. Can James Anderson dig in to help get him there?

3.20pm: Life for Burns Pt II

Another chance missed for New Zealand to rid themselves of Burns, with Neil Wagner the unfortunate bowler this time. The left-armer, on for Jamieson at the Nursery End, produced a brute of a ball to take the outside edge, but Southee shelled a diving catch at second slip, with Ross Taylor also unable to grab the rebound.
England are going nowhere fast at the moment, despite Stuart Broad's best attempts to tee off. Then again, stalemate might be the best they can hope for.

2.55pm: Leather on Wood

Pitched up, Wood has a dip, nicked through to the keeper - now Jamieson has a third. If he can clean up the England tail here, Jamieson will have his fifth five-for in just seven Tests. Burns, meanwhile, faces being stranded short of a potential hundred. He has scored 27 runs off 115 balls today, but the fact he is still out there is all that matters.

2.40pm: Southee five-for!

Another Black Cap is going on the honours board, with Tim Southee breaking through to pick up his fifth wicket of the innings. Robinson had dug in manfully for almost two hours to make 42 out of a 63-run stand, but he's done by Southee's short ball, unable to do anything with it other than shovel a catch to long leg. Southee's name is already up in the away dressing room, for his ten-wicket haul in 2013 - but you'd imagine this one would be all the sweeter if it contributed to a New Zealand win.
Not many visiting bowlers have taken two five-fors in Lord's Tests, by the way.

2.25pm: Life for Burns

Santner should have broken this seventh-wicket stand in the final over before the second new ball, but BJ Watling failed to get a glove on the delivery with Burns, on 77, stranded. There were more Kiwi groans when Southee's first bite with the fresh cherry zipped through fractionally over the top of off stump, with Burns playing no stroke.
Two fours in an over from Wagner, meanwhile, raised the fifty stand between this pair and continued the good impression being made by Robinson. But he's now got to deal with the towering Jamieson galloping in from the Nursery End.

2.10pm: Marginal gains

A Robinson clump over mid-on against Santner has taken England past the follow-on mark. Still a job of work to be done with the bat this afternoon, though - and with Jamieson and Southee likely to soon be unleashed with the second new ball.

2pm: En guard

To walk across your stumps or not... More fuel for the debate.

1.45pm: Stomach for a fight

As England resume their efforts to dig a way out of this hole, it's probably worth noting that Ollie Robinson can bat a bit, having scored a century on first-class debut back in 2015. He has a couple of Championship fifties for Sussex so far this season, and gets back underway after lunch with a neat back-foot swipe through point for four off de Grandhomme. With Burns having set his stall out for the long haul, Williamson has opened up with the be-mulleted allrounder and Neil Wagner after lunch.

1pm: Lunch

England 164 for 6 (Burns 72*, Robinson 16*) trail New Zealand 378 by 214 runs
Kyle Jamieson struck with the first ball of the day and Tim Southee dispatched three England batsmen in as many overs as New Zealand grabbed the home side by the ankles and started shaking out their loose change on the fourth morning at Lord's.
With an entire day lost to rain, this Test needed a powder keg placing under it, but hopes of forcing a result were raised as England's top order was reduced to rubble. Only Rory Burns, who added 13 runs to his overnight score, stood firm amid the procession as a callow batting line-up was filleted by Southee.
Things began badly for the home side, with Joe Root dismissed before the clock had even ticked around to 11am - Jamieson found bounce and seam movement from a perfect length, with Ross Taylor expertly scooping a low catch at first slip.
Ollie Pope, a relative veteran of 18 Tests, glittered briefly while finding the boundary five times in his 22, only to be pinned in front of his stumps by Southee - although it needed the help of DRS after Michael Gough turned down the initial appeal. Dan Lawrence, playing his first Test at home, then edged his second ball to slip and the debutant James Bracey was castled for a duck as England lost 3 for 0 in 21 balls.
Ollie Robinson, another man on debut, needed a review to survive until lunch after being given out by Gough caught at short leg off Mitchell Santner's exploratory over, as England went in six down and still short of the follow-on target.

12.40pm: Ashes phoney war latest

Are they watching Down Under? Of course they are...

12.30pm: Stopping the rot

New Zealand well on top at Lord's, though Robinson has managed to end the procession of ducks for now. A punch through point from Burns, who has scored 10 runs in 90 minutes, took England rather limply to 150 - still more than 200 runs behind. I suspect New Zealand wouldn't enforce the follow on, because there's still plenty of time in the game (despite having lost a day to rain), but they've enjoyed the perfect morning. As noted in the Times, this is the youngest top seven England have ever fielded in a home Test, with an average age of 25 years and 346 days - and they've received a bit of a schooling so far.

12.15pm: Poll position

12.05pm: Up the bracket

Tim Southee has breezed through Bracey for a duck on debut, plucking out off stump to collect his fourth of the innings! Superb stuff from New Zealand's attack leader, although he again had some assistance from the batter, with Bracey leaving a big enough gap in his forward defensive to be comprehensively cleaned up. Southee nearly had two in two, only for an inside edge to save Ollie Robinson, another debutant in the headlights, from being lbw. England have lost 3 for 0 in 21 balls, their fresh meat being devoured by the Kiwis right now...

12pm: Sup on that

What a superb first hour for New Zealand. No wonder Trent Boult is smiling.

11.51am: Bang-bang for NZ!

They're not looking to Lawrence any more! In fact, they might want to avert their eyes... Southee goes full in the channel, Lawrence takes aim but only succeeds in sending a bottom-handed thrash to third slip. Out comes England's debutant keeper, James Bracey, at No. 7. A top-three batter by trade, he should at least have the right temperament for this situation; but it's going to be a real test of skill, with Southee displaying exemplary control and Kane Williamson still holding several cards still up his sleeve.

11.45am: Pope-a-dope

There's the ball, and it's Southee the architect! Drags him across with a series of deliveries in the channel and then has two goes at the one going straight on - the second of which not only does for Pope but also scrambles the synapses of cyborg umpire Michael Gough, who gives it not out despite being plumb. "If they want to go straight and bowl at the stumps, that's one of my strengths," is Pope's theory, but it only works if you hit them.
Couldn't see from the release whether Southee was attempting his work-in-progress inswinger, which he discussed on Sky yesterday morning, or the more regulation wobble seam. But either way, Pope's out of rope, and England are looking to Dan Lawrence, playing in his first home Test match.

11.30am: Pope mobilises

Pope has moved quickly into double-figures, though not without one or two moments of fortune. His first two scoring shots were thick-edged fours wide of third slip, and in between there was a woolly slash at Jamieson. But he found his feet with a rasping cover drive off Southee, and then picked up another boundary in the same over with a flick through midwicket.
Pope is among the band of off-stump guard advocates whose current methods to combat wobbly medium-pace in county cricket have come under scrutiny. How long before Colin de Grandhomme is thrown the ball to see how secure his technique is?

11.10am: Gauntlet thrown down

Did I mention that England could easily get rumbled here? Pitch under covers for a day, bit of extra juice thanks to all the rain... Tim Southee, who has just delivered a maiden to keep England on Nelson, felt there was a bit in it already on the second day, particularly for batters just starting out. Could be a big test for Ollie Pope here, not to mention the tyros at No. 6 and 7.

11am: Up-Rooted

Out come the players, "Jerusalem" blaring over the PA. Joe Root scratches his guard, Kyle Jamieson to barrel in from the Nursery End. Good length, nipping down the slope, clips the outside edge... and Root turns to see it safely scooped by Ross Taylor at first slip! The clock still reads 10.59am, but New Zealand have struck, Jamieson lands it on a dime and hits paydirt first ball!

10.30am: Let's try that again...

After the bedraggled shemozzle of day three, the weather in north London has sorted itself out and the weekend at Lord's is set fair - which is the minimum requirement, frankly, if either side are going to be able to push for a win in this Test. Losing a full day does rather put the squeeze on things, but possibilities remain. New Zealand are sitting on a handy lead, and could easily hustle England out for 270 by tea; equally, Joe Root will have designs on still being there himself at that stage, with the prospect of batting into day five and them leaving the tourists with a Tricky Third Innings with which to concern themselves. Every chance we'll get the Blairite "third way", of course, and everyone will end up unhappy. But we live in hope.
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Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick

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