New Zealand's Devon Conway put himself into the record books with a double hundred on his Test debut, though England got themselves back into contention at Lord's.
Mark Wood (3-81) and England debutant Ollie Robinson – who came into the second day on the back of issuing an apology for offensive historic social media posts – managed to wrestle the hosts back into the fray after the tourists closed on 246-3 on Wednesday.
Robinson finished with impressive figures of 4-75 and would have had a five-for on debut if not for Stuart Broad dropping Tim Southee's drive.
Yet the day belonged to Conway, who brought up his 200 with a six before succumbing to a strange run-out in the Black Caps' 378 all out, with England surviving a nervy start to reach the close on 111-2.
Starting the day on 136 not out and, along with Henry Nicholls (61), New Zealand's opener picked up where he left off and, when he hit 154, had surpassed legendary figures WG Grace and Ranji to establish himself as the highest scoring Test debutant on English soil.
Wood delivered in his second over, a bouncer drawing Nicholls into a miscontrolled hook to Robinson, and the paceman soon had his second and third wickets, dismissing BJ Watling and Mitchell Santner either side of Robinson trapping Colin de Grandhomme lbw.
Kyle Jamieson followed to Robinson after lunch as the Black Caps lost a fifth wicket within the space of 29 runs, though Conway trundled on and, amid a late flurry from Neil Wagner, the 29-year-old got his 200 when a top edge soared over the deep square leg boundary.
Conway's record stand came to an end in bizarre circumstances. Joe Root seemed to have let the opportunity for a run-out slip by when he missed the stumps after collecting Ollie Pope's throw, yet England's captain recovered just in time to knock the bails off before Conway made it back.
In reply, England were a wicket down inside four overs. With Southee having an lbw appeal against Rory Burns rightly turned down, Jamieson struck when Dom Sibley (0) was hit on the pads just in line with off stump.
Zak Crawley edged through to Watling as fears of another batting collapse grew, but Burns and Root steadied the ship, reaching unbeaten tallies of 59 and 42 respectively before stumps.
RECORDS TUMBLE FOR CONWAY
There can be no full house just yet at the home of cricket, but the Lord's crowd were treated to a masterclass of an innings by Conway, who became just the second Black Caps batsman, after Matthew Sinclair in 1999, to score 200 on his Test debut, and just the seventh player ever to score a double century on his first appearance in the longest format.
Conway is the oldest player to hit 200 on his Test debut, and his runs accounted for 52.91 per cent of New Zealand's first-innings total.
ROBINSON FALLS JUST SHORT
Wednesday was a difficult day for Robinson, on what should have been a proud moment for the seamer.
He can at least take pride in what was a resilient response, and if not for Broad's dreadful spill from Southee's shot, Robinson would have had a five-for. It would also have matched a unique statistic, as only once previously in Test history have a century and a five-for been recorded by debutants in the same innings, with Harry Graham (107) and Bill Lockwood (6-101) doing so at Lord's in 1893.
Archer brings 'fear factor' to England's T20 World Cup squad, says Curran
Jofra Archer's return will bring a "fear factor" to England's bowling attack at the T20 World Cup, believes team-mate Sam Curran.
Paceman Archer has endured an injury-hit few years, with elbow and back problems preventing him from representing England since March 2023.
However, he has been included in England's provisional squad for next month's World Cup in the United States and West Indies and could make his international return on Wednesday.
England face Pakistan in the first of four T20Is at Headingley, and Archer is expected to feature after taking part in team training on Monday.
It is hoped he might play in three of the four matches against Pakistan in order to build up fitness ahead of the World Cup, and Curran says opposition teams will be nervous about his return.
"It's incredibly exciting," Curran said on Monday. "I'm sure England fans and players are extremely buzzed to have him back. He's an addition no side can turn down.
"He's obviously got that extra pace and fear factor we can bring to the opposition as well. Hopefully his injuries are behind him now."
Kane injury doubt for England Euro 2024 squad
Harry Kane may be a doubt for England’s Euro 2024 squad as he continues to struggle with a back problem.
Gareth Southgate is due to name his preliminary squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday, ahead of upcoming friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.
The England captain missed the final two Bundesliga games of the season after going off towards the end of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed prior to their final match against Hoffenheim that Kane was back in England to undergo treatment.
When later asked again about the nature of the striker’s injury, Tuchel admitted that Kane had been struggling for a couple of weeks.
"In Madrid, it was borderline. We tried injections and treatments. The back has completely closed.
"It has gotten worse and kept breaking out in small, everyday movements. There's no chance he's even training."
Kane scored 36 league goals in his debut campaign for Bayern, though due to the injury, he finished five adrift of Robert Lewandowski’s single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20.
The final announcement of Southgate's 26-man squad will be revealed on June 7, ahead of the tournament opener against Serbia on June 16.
Brandon King named captain as West Indies squad named for three-match T20I series against South Africa
Brandon King has been appointed captain of the West Indies squad named to face South Africa in the upcoming three T20 International series at Sabina Park in Kingston starting Thursday, May 23. The squad has been gearing up for this exciting and highly anticipated series with a training camp held at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. The selection panel has confirmed that Brandon King will have Roston Chase as his vice captain. Both appointments are on an interim basis.
King was set to lead the West Indies A-Team on the recently concluded T20 tour to Nepal before he was withdrawn due to injury. Chase, appointed instead, went on to lead the A-Team to a series win against Nepal.
The West Indies Men’s squad for the series is as follows: Brandon King (Captain), Roston Chase (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Alick Athanaze, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd and Hayden Walsh Jr.
Alzarri Joseph and Sherfane Rutherford will be added to the squad if their respective franchises do not reach the Indian Premier League (IPL) Final. Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran are both rested for the series and will join the squad in Trinidad on Monday, 27 May.
“These are among the last competitive T20 International matches before the start of the World Cup,” said lead selector Desmond Haynes. “Players have the opportunity to fine-tune their skills and ensure they are as prepared as they can be for the World Cup, whether they are in the final squad or reserve pool.”
White Ball Head Coach Daren Sammy also commented on his objectives for this series stating, “We have not played together as a team since the Australia series, but we just completed a very high-intensity training camp in Antigua. Now we have the chance to integrate some of our players returning from the IPL and build some momentum as a group going into the World Cup.”
Tickets for the T20I Series against South Africa at Sabina Park, Jamaica are available now to buy online from the Windies Tickets service, at WINDIES TICKET PORTAL. Fans who purchase online will benefit from a 20 per cent discount compared to the box office prices, with tickets ranging from the most premium seats with the best-shaded views in the stadium through to affordable standard seats or mounds/grounds entry.
Match schedule:
- 23 May 1st T20I West Indies v South Africa at Sabina Park, Jamaica 2:00 pm JT/3:00 pm ECT
- 25 May 2nd T20I West Indies v South Africa at Sabina Park, Jamaica 2:00 pm JT/3:00 pm ECT
- 26 May 3rd T20I West Indies v South Africa at Sabina Park, Jamaica 2:00 pm JT/3:00 pm ECT
West Indies won the last T20 International played at Sabina Park against New Zealand in August 2022, which was the last time international cricket was played at this historic venue.
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