Inglaterra contra Nueva Zelanda: primer Test de cricket masculino, día uno

This is a good question.

And another correspondent is back for a second spell. “Brendon McCullum is clearly not enjoying Lord's today,†says Ken Andrew. “The England balcony is so small he's unable to put his feet up to show the world how chilled he is…†Ouch!

Another good spot from Mark Puttick. “Harry Brook's ten Test innings v NZ: three scores between 0 and 1 (0, 0, 1), the remaining seven all over 50 (89, 54, 186, 171, 123, 55, 56).â€

I feel a song coming on.

“But,†says Ian Ward, “the mop-up has begun.â€

Many thanks to Rob, whose paragraphs were a pleasure to read as usual. Though he did seem to bring a lot of England wickets with him. When he took over from me at 1.45 or so, Duckett and Bethell were still together.

The weather is improving so hopefully play will resume soon. I'm going to hand over back to Tim for a little while.

The umpires have brought tea forward, which means play is scheduled to restart at 4.11pm. That looks unlikely, because there's biblical stuff falling from the sky.

“It may sound harsh to criticise Harry Brook after a highly entertaining and crucial half-century in bowler-friendly conditions,†says Colum Fordham. “But perhaps he could have reined in his natural aggression after Stokes got out.â€

He was batting with the No9, so slowing down would have made no sense. Given the match situation and the noise around the England team, I thought Brook's tempo and risk-management were about as good as could be reasonably expected.

That was an extremely tough session for England, who made 94 for 7 in 23.1 overs. New Zealand bowled beautifully, Will O'Rourke in particular, and most of the England batters were out playing defensively. The exception was Harry Brook, who rode his luck to make a brilliant counter-attacking 56.

33.1 overs: England 118-8 (Robinson 1, Tongue 4) So much for Jamieson's fitness. He has changed ends to replace Smith – maybe New Zealand just want to ough up England's quicks with their tallest bowlers – and immediately beats Robinson with a preposterous, unplayable delivery.

That's the last ball of this session: the light has deteriorated and the players are going off.

33rd over: England 118-8 (Robinson 1, Tongue 4) Kyle Jamieson is replaced by Will O'Rourke. That might seem harsh, when he's one short of a five-for, but he's bowled 11 overs today and his enduring fitness is far more important.

Tongue is hit high on the bat by O'Rourke but survives the last four balls of the over.

“Is it cowardly to pray for a near-biblical deluge covering just St John's Wood for the period between now and 6pm on Monday?†asks Richard O'Hagan.

32nd over: England 117-8 (Robinson 0, Tongue 4) A very good ball from Smith is inside-edged past the stumps and away for four by Josh Tongue.

Stop the press: New Zealand have caught Harry Brook. After pulling Smith for four and missing an attempt to launch six over extra cover, Brook flicked high towards fine leg and was well taken by Jamieson. The end of a highly entertaining innings, without which England would be in an even deeper stink.

31st over: England 108-7 (Brook 52, Robinson 0) Kyle Jamieson has Benson & Hedges Cup figures: 11-0-50-4.

The new batter is Ollie Robinson, who made a first-class hundred against Suirrey this summer. But what we really want is to see him bowl in these conditions.

After Brook flashes Jamieson for four to reach a blistering fifty, Atkinson is plumb LBW to a majestic off-cutter. Jamieson is one away from his sixth Tet five-for.

30th over: England 102-6 (Brook 47, Atkinson 3)

29th over: England 100-6 (Brook 46, Atkinson 3) It's so good to see Kyle Jamieson back after all his injury problems. This is his first Test appearance since February 2024 and only his fourth appearance since New Zealand's tour of England four years ago.

Four is also the number of wickets he should have in this innings, because Brook has been dropped again. He picked up a short ball towards deep square leg, where Ravindra spilled a relatively straightforward running chance. Ravindra got himself in a weird position, jumping to meet the ball with both feet off the ground.

I think he'd have taken that had it been any other batter, but Brook puts fielding teams under so much pressure. New Zealand dropped him five times when he leathered 171 at Christchurch in that 2024-25 series.

28th over: England 99-6 (Brook 45, Atkinson 3) Atkinson, who scored a pulsating maiden century against Sri Lanka on this ground two years ago, times Smith nicely down the ground for three to get off the mark.

England's seamers must be itching to bowl in these conditions, though you never know if or when the pitch will start to flatten out.

27th over: England 94-6 (Brook 43, Atkinson 0) Gus Atkinson, who for reasons I can't fathom has become a bit of a forgotten man, is the new batter.

There's a slight concern over Stokes' fitness as well. Earlier in that over he turned sharply after being sent back and appeared to hurt his groin in the process.

That's a joke of a shot from Harry Brook, a disdainful pick-up/pull off Jamieson that flies over square leg for four. There's a long way to go but Brook's batting today has been so similar to the series-winning counter-attacks in New Zealand 18 months ago. On those occasions England were 71 for 4 and 43 for 4.

And today they are 94 for 6 because Stokes has gone! He pushed defensively at a length delivery that bounced to take a thick edge and was stunningly caught by Kane Williamson at third slip. Williamson swooped low, in from otf Latham, and clutched it one-handed just above the ground. What a catch!

26th over: England 83-5 (Brook 36, Stokes 8) Stokes gets his first boundary with a crisp flick through midwicket off Smith. What England would give for Stokes to find some form with the bat. It's been always three years since his poker-faced rampage against Australia on this ground, and in that time he averages less than 30.

I think that's a bit harsh on Smith, though there was arguably an element of being seen to do the right thing. Equally, the best batter today, by a distance, has been the most attacking.

25th over: England 79-5 (Brook 36, Stokes 4) Brook charges Jamieson and drags an inelegant, flamingoish boundary through mid-on. “You can't just let Kyle Jamieson bowl in the same spot all the time,†says Stuart Broad on commentary. “You have to mess with his length.â€

To prove the point, Jamieson's next ball is too full and timed gloriously through mid-on for four more. Marvellous batting.

Drinks

Tea will be taken at 4.15pm due to the earlier rain.

24th over: England 71-5 (Brook 28, Stokes 4) Smith replaces Jamieson, who may change ends to replace O'Rourke. New Zealand are currently down to three specialist seamers because of Matt Henry's back spasm.

“Ah yes, the new look England under the revitalisation of McCullum and Key!†writes X. “It's just like the old-look England under McCullum and Key. The more it stays the same, the more it stays the same, non?â€

The entitled moaning and thoughtless rants in my inbox has certainly stayed the same, even though the manner of England's struggles with the bat today bear almost no resemblance to what happened in Australia.

23rd over: England 70-5 (Brook 27, Stokes 4) Stokes smiles after playing and missing at another delivery from O'Rourke that moves extravagantly off the seam. These are seriously tough batting conditions, in which a par score is probably no more than 200.

“Early days, but this could be one of the shorter ‘resets' in English cricket history?†wonders David Hindle. “We may be heading back to the days of despair with very short interludes of torture by nasty shards of hope? And admiring how much better at cricket all the other teams are than us?â€

There are some 1986 vibes around this series, but ultimately England are struggling today because they lost a vital toss against a superb attack. The only player to get out to an ill-judged attacking shot was Jacob Bethell, and England were in similar positions against New Zealand 18 months ago when the garden was much rosier.

I suppose the main concern is how much the noise, the endless bloody noise, affects the subconscious of players like Jamie Smith. Among the batters, I'd be less worried about Brook, Bethell, Root and to a lesser extent Duckett.

22nd over: England 68-5 (Brook 27, Stokes 2) A very wide half-volley from Jamieson is larruped square for four by Brook. He tries to pull the next ball and contrives to top-edge it over the bowler's head for two.

“Last year we were debating whether Ben Duckett was the best all-format batsman on earth,†weeps Luke Dealtry. “My, how things fall apart – though a tour of Australia has done that to many a man. Watching him leave the first couple of balls this morning makes me wonder if he'll rise again, though I appreciate it is a honking day to bat and he's been great in the county championship. But it'll be mentally very tough, and the making of the man if he does return to previous heights.â€

He's the least of our worries right now. His county form, and the way he played today, makes me think he'll be fine. Not sure I can see England winning the Ashes next year without him.

21st over: England 61-5 (Brook 21, Stokes 2) A scruffy over from O'Rourke, who clearly started to believe the hype and has now lost the plot.

Meanwhile, Mark Puttick has spotted something unusual about the Jacob Bethell dismissal.

I would tentatively say that's the first time a New Zealand bowler who was born in England has got an England batter who was born in Barbados out LBW after a review in a Lord's Test.

20th over: England 61-5 (Brook 20, Stokes 2) There's a further delay because of a problem with the sightscreen. Stokes then tries to leave a ball from Jamieson at the last minute; it deflects off the bat and not far wide of the stumps.

“Does Joe Root tend to take a bit of time to warm up?†asks James Brough. “I've a feeling he starts the summer with a couple of low scores and then comes into his own once the series is under way. Am I doing him a disservice?â€

I think so. He started the first Bazball summer with a vital matchwinning century, then batted gloriously on day one of the 2023 Ashes (don't get me started on the declaration, for all our sakes). Last year he took a while to get going against India, but overall I don't think there's a pattern.

19.4 overs: England 55-5 (Brook 20, Stokes 0) As Ben Stokes walks onto the field, Harry Brook runs off the field, presumably for a toilet break.

On reflection I suspect Smith left that ball on line as well as length. It came back a mile off the seam, but it's not the first ball to do so today so it counts as a fairly bad misjudgement.

No. Nooo. Jamie Smith shoulders arm to a nipbacker from Kyle Jamieson that clatters into the stumps. Jamieson is 6ft 8ins so maybe Smith thought it was a safe leave on length; he was wrong.

19th over: England 55-4 (Brook 20, Smith 1) Four more to Brook, pulled handsomely behind square off O'Rourke – a shot that is easier typed than done. Brook's burgeoning counter-attack, 20 from 29 balls, has already changed the mood a touch.

18th over: England 51-4 (Brook 16, Smith 1) A short ball from Smith is pulled devastatingly for four by Brook. Smith responds with a fuller nipbacker that goes through the gate to hit the pad. New Zealand go up for LBW but, though it looks fairly close, there are doubts over both height and line and Brook survives.

17th over: England 44-4 (Brook 9, Smith 1) Brook plays another high-class square drive for four, this time off O'Rourke – but then he's dropped by Conway! Brook sliced a flamboyant kind of cut/drive that flew towards backward point and burst through the hands of Conway.

New Zealand dropped Brook a gazillion times in that 2024-25 series, and he punished them royally with a couple of matchwinning hundreds.

16th over: England 38-4 (Brook 4, Smith 0) Brook pushes nervously at a big outswinger from Smith and is beaten. He needs to laser one over extra-cover for six, or at least die trying, because right now England are sitting ducks.

Brook settles for a less extravagant square drive to the boundary. That's an excellent shot.

“My only quibble about your description of Will O'Rourke is that he might be the world's best already, certainly on a pitch offering a bit, as this one is,†says Gary Naylor. “Just because he looks like a choirboy doesn't mean he can't be a nasty-fasty, with a bit of movement and a lot of control. It's a different game above 87mph, especially from that height.â€

WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE JASPRIT BUMRAH? (I know what you mean, though, especially on a pitch like this. And O'Rourke is a greater physical threat, which counts for something.)

15th over: England 34-4 (Brook 0, Smith 0) Helluva time for Jamie Smith to start his new career as England's Test No6.

I'm getting the shivers at the thought of how good O'Rourke could be; how good he already is. He was born in Kingston-upon-Thames, by the way – his parents moved back to New Zealand when he was four or five.

Too good. WIll O'Rourke is just too good for the greatest batter in English cricket history. Root was undone by a snorting, seaming lifter that shaved the outside edge and was taken by Blundell.

Don't sigh, don't shout FFS. England haven't done much wrong today – they are being taken apart by a sensational seam attack. Sure, Root was starting to open the face but it was an absolute jaffa. Short of square-legging it like a No11, he was always going to edge that delivery once his instinct told him to play at it.

14th over: England 34-3 (Root 1, Brook 0) Brook either defends or leaves the remainder of a challenigng over from Smith. Nobody wants to hear it, but this is exactly the situation in which Brook's best approach is to tee off – as he did so brilliantly in New Zealand 18 months ago and against India at the Oval last summer. It's much harder to do that after spending five months on the naughty step, so the next half hour will be a fascinating insight into the mind of Harry Cherrington Brook.

Brook is not out! Big inside-edge onto the pad, next!

New Zealand review for LBW against Brook! This looks close to me, maybe umpire's call on line. England are under so much pressure from a forensic New Zealand attack.

13th over: England 33-3 (Root 0, Brook 0) O'Rourke greets Brook with a sharp bumper. Brook avoids that but is hit in the stomach (I think) by a nasty nipbacker. This guy O'Rourke is sensational – he looks violently unpleasant to face, with angles and lift that evoke the best of Steve Harmison.

Jacob Bethell 0-1 Will O'Rourke. It was a superb delivery from O'Rourke, much fuller than usual and angling back to hit the pad as Bethell missed an attempted drive. The ball deflected to slip, which brought the catch into play had Bethell inside-edged the ball onto the pad.

He had not – but he was plumb LBW and England are in the malodorous stuff. That was a slightly loose stroke from Bethell.

New Zealand review for LBW/a catch against Bethell!

One way or another, I think this is out.

A cracking read, this, from Wisden's Jo Harman-McGowan on English cricket's answer to Brexit

12th over: England 31-2 (Bethell 4, Root 0) This New Zealand attack were always likely to give England a serious test in these conditions. Both openers were got out, rather than giving their wickets away, and if anything England haven't gone hard enough.

There were three reds on the Duckett dismissal, no umpire's call, so he was correct not to review. Smith gets some lavish outswing to the new batter Joe Root, who defends watchfully.

Nathan Smith strikes with his third ball of the match! Duckett, who struck the previous delivery for four, was caught in front by a length ball from around the wicket that nipped back sharply to hit both pads.

I thought Duckett would review – there was a bit of doubt over height – but after a discussion with Bethell he decided to walk off.

11th over: England 27-1 (Duckett 15, Bethell 4) O'Rourke is on for Matt Henry, who suffered a back spasm in the first session and is off the field. That's a concern for New Zealand, though at least they have four specialist seamers in their team.

O'Rourke's first ball is a jaffa, just back of a length and seaming past Duckett's outside edge. When he overpitches later in the over, Duckett times a classy push-drive through extra cover for three. Bethell sees our the rest of the over.

Will O'Rourke is going to start after lunch. If you haven't seen him before, you're in for a treat over the next month – he has the potential to be world No1.

Hello one and all, Rob here. There's good news and bad news. The bad news, for you, is that Tim is having laptop problems so I'm taking over. The good news, for you and me, is that Jacob Bethell will be batting in a couple of minutes. We might even see him up against Will O'Rourke for the first time* since their immense contest at Hamilton on 17 December 2024.

* I think

That said, the covers are off and the sun is out. Play will resume at 1.45pm, in about 15 minutes… if the rain doesn't return.

Latest from a few miles south-west of Lord's. “A while earlier,†says Neil Parkes, “when Bethell and Duckett where ducking and… bething (?), it was blowing a gale with horizontal rain here in Ealing and I was amazed they were out there. Now it's bright sun here. No wait, it's clouding over. No it's sun again. No wait… err.â€

Sure enough, things are not looking so good.

Not wanting to put a dampener on things, but I've just had a glance at the forecast. The chance of rain at Lord's from 1 to 2pm, according to the Met Office, is greater than 95 per cent. And it doesn't get much better in the hours after that: 80pc, 80pc, 70pc, 50pc… The best bet is 6-7pm, when it's 30pc.

“Slightly better news,†says Ian Ward on Sky. “There's going to be a restart at 1.25pm if there's no further rain…. The teams are having an early lunch.â€

Jonathan Liew has a question for us.