June 06, 2026
England took control of the first Test against New Zealand on the second day at Lord’s on Friday during a match moving with breakneck speed in the 150th Test staged at the home of world cricket.
At the close New Zealand, chasing 254 to win, were 36 for three on a pitch still offering plenty to the pace bowlers and with their premier leading batsman Kane Williamson (18) back in the pavilion.
At the start of play, England opening bowler Ollie Robinson, back in the national side after a two-year exile in county cricket over concerns about his conditioning and fitness, celebrated his recall by completing a fourth five-wicket Test haul in New Zealand’s paltry 113 reply to England’s 140.
Robinson, 32, set the match alight on Thursday’s opening day by capturing three wickets from four balls in the first over of the New Zealand innings to spark an England resurgence after the home team had tumbled on a pitch of variable bounce and pace during a day interrupted by two rain storms.
