England 140 & 226 beat New Zealand 113 & 138 (Atkinson 5-30) by 115 runs. England lead the series 1-0.
LORD’S — England needed less than a session on the fourth day to wrap up a morale-boosting victory in the first Test of the summer against New Zealand.
On a desperate pitch that made batting perilous for both teams, the tourists were dismissed for 138 chasing 254 to fall to a 115-run defeat ahead of next week’s second Test at The Oval.
Coming into this week, winning for England was non-negotiable following their horrendous Ashes winter and the stasis that led to the retention of coach Brendon McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key.
That the result came on a pitch that has been widely derided as one of the worst to be served up in this country for the past 20 years did make this Test a lottery.
