England implode after their seamers wreck havoc to bowl out New Zealand for 132 on the opening day of the first Test at Lord's.
Toss: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson elected to bat first, 23-year-old fast bowler Matthew Potts made his Test debut for England
Scores: 1st innings: NZ – 132, ENG – 116/7, trail by 16 runs
Stokes honours a England great
England captain Ben Stokes sported former England player and batting coach Graham Thorpe's name and jersey no.564, when he walked out for the toss. Thorpe, 52, is currently 'seriously ill' and in the hospital.
"Me wearing this shirt is on behalf of me and the England cricket team to show support to him, his wife, his kids, and all his family and friends through this tough time because we all love Thorpey, and he means a hell of a lot to us," said Stokes.
A concussion replacement named
While the morning started great for England, having sent back both the New Zealand openers under five overs, the hosts suffered a big blow when Jack Leach was forced to withdraw from the Test.
Leach was chasing a boundary from backward point when he landed awkwardly on his head and neck and was unable to get. After being tended to by the medical staff, the spinner had to walk back to the pavilion.
Subsequently he began showing concussion symptoms and had to be ruled out of the Test. Leg-spinner Matt Parkinson was later named as his replacement.
"Leach will have a graduated return to play with a minimum period being seven days, in accordance with concussion guidelines," an ECB statement said.
The 23-second applause
Shane Warne, who passed away unexpectedly in March this year, was paid a special tribute at the Lord's at the end of the 23rd over. The match was paused and there was 23 seconds of continued applause from all over the ground in honour of the Australia legend. 23 was Warne's preferred jersey number.
“On the fourth of March the game lost a cricket legend and the greatest leg-spinner of all time. His legacy transcends cricket and even sports on and off the field. In the commentary boxes and as a coach, he will be remembered for his cricketing genius as a cultural icon and simply one of a kind. His shirt number was 23, so for those able please be up standing for 23 seconds of applause for one of the greats of the game – Shane Warne," said the ground announcer before urging people to get up.
A debut to remember
"Pottsy (Mattew Potts) has had a fantastic start to the season. Durham lad, I played three games with him early on and he was head and shoulders above everybody else," Stokes had said at the toss.
Vindicating his captain's words, Potts put up an impressive display, complementing James Anderson, and finishing with figures of 9.2-4-13-4.
Potts' first wicket was that of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (2), who nicked behind in his first over and there was no looking back from there. Keeping things tight at his end, Potts then removed Daryl Mitchell (13), Tom Blundell (14) and Ajaz Patel (7) to complete a four-wicket haul.
Anderson too finished with four wickets, including the two New Zealand openers, while Stuart Broad and Stokes picked up one wicket each.
Taste of their own medicine
After bowling out New Zealand for 132, England looked in a solid position to control the first Test. And they started off well, first seeing off the brief session before Tea without any hiccups. The final session began steadily, with openers Alex Lees and Zak Crawley sharing a half-century stand.
They put together 59 before Kyle Jamieson struck to send by Crawley and struck again 10 overs later to dismiss Ollie Pope. At 75/2, England still looked in a comfortable enough position but it did not take long for disaster to strike.
Former captain Joe Root (11) edged one off Colin de Grandhomme. In the next over, Tim Southee trapped Lees for a 77-ball 25 and then got Ben Stokes (1) in his very next over. Trent Boult made Jonny Bairstow (1) drag one back onto the stumps and then removed Potts (0) two balls later to leave England stuttering at 100/7.
Five wickets fell for just 8 runs in 28 balls!
Ben Foakes and Stuart Broad were able to add 16 runs in the remaining 3.1 overs as England finished the first day on 116/7, trailing by 16 runs.
Stat of the day: 132 is New Zealand's second-lowest first-innings total in England vs England
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