London (AFP) – Gus Atkinson struck twice late on the second day as England pressed for victory in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's on Friday.
Issued on: 05/06/2026 - 20:38Modified: 05/06/2026 - 21:17
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England's strong position also owed much to debutant opener Emilio Gay's valuable fifty in a low-scoring game.New Zealand were 36-3 in their second innings at stumps. They need a further 218 runs to reach a victory target of 254 after collapsing to 113 all out first time around on a bowler-friendly pitch.They suffered a woeful start to their run-chase on Friday when captain Tom Latham fell for a third-ball duck, edging a loose drive off Atkinson to Harry Brook in the slips.Kane Williamson, in what could be the key batsman's final appearance at Lord's, battled hard for 18 before he was lbw to fast bowler Josh Tongue shortly before the close.New Zealand sent out a nightwatchman in Will O'Rourke but he was bowled for a duck by paceman Atkinson, who had close figures of 2-10 in 3.5 overs.Earlier, Jamie Smith helped England recover from a middle-order collapse before the hosts were dismissed for 226 in their second innings of a frenetic clash in north London.Gay was England's top scorer in their second innings with 57 and wicket-keeper Smith made 39 in the 150th Test staged at Lord's -- the most of any ground.New Zealand quick Nathan Smith took 6-70. But given New Zealand were dismissed for just 113 in the first innings, they need a vastly-improved batting effort to prevent England going 1-0 up in the three-match series.'Tough day'"A tough day, the pitch had its demands," Gay told the BBC. "That's the beauty of Test cricket, the challenges it brings."The most important thing was trying to embrace it and see it as an opportunity. When it's a low-scoring game, partnerships of 20 and little bits of momentum there are massive."Nathan Smith, meanwhile, said: "The game has moved pretty quickly in the first couple of days. We lost one too many wickets tonight but the wicket (pitch) is offering a lot for the seamers."England lost four wickets for just one run as 126-2 became 127-6 before Jamie Smith steadied the ship during a seventh-wicket partnership of 57 with Atkinson.
