Colin de Grandhomme celebrates dismissing Joe Root with his teammates. Photo / Photosport
Colin de Grandhomme celebrates dismissing Joe Root with his teammates. Photo / Photosport
New Zealand have surged back from adversity on the opening day of the first test against England at Lord's.
The visitors were dismissed for 132 and looked to have conceded first innings honours to the hosts who reached 59 without loss and kept the momentum going to 92 for two.
Then, in the space of 28 balls, the world champions took five wickets for eight runs to reshape the balance of the match.
England were 116 for seven at stumps with Ben Foakes and Stuart Broad the not-out batsmen.
The attack of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme and Kyle Jamieson shared the spoils by bowling in attacking partnerships.
Initially, the value of a first-class diet leading into the test series made a robust case.
The host XI featured 10 players – with Jonny Bairstow the Indian Premier League returning exception – who have toiled in white through the English autumn.
The visitors had two – Will Young for Northamptonshire and Colin de Grandhomme for Surrey – slotting into that category.
De Grandhomme top-scoring with 42 not out felt like no accident. The Black Caps' anaemic effort was riddled with tentativeness and indecision, which saw the top four each offer spoils to the slip cordon to reduce them to 12 for four.
Captain Kane Williamson won the toss and made what appeared a logical decision to bat. The taupe pitch looked ripe for runs, on the proviso the first session could be negotiated.
England's pace bowler custodians James Anderson and Broad, along with debutant Matthew Potts, ensured it couldn't.
Youngster Matthew Potts took four wickets on debut for England. Photo / Photosport
Smarting from recent dubious handling by the selectors, the rhythm of Anderson and tenacity of Broad unleashed contagion on the New Zealand dressing room before Potts brought unbridled bustle.
The instruction from the new coach-captain combination of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes to play with freedom helped release any pent-up tactical confusion - although the same policy had limits with the bat.
Bairstow contributed to the domination with three catches at third slip as part of a cordon which eventually peaked at five slips and a gully. A leg slip also cameoed at one point as the attacking umbrella bloomed.
One can only imagine the rustling of gear bags, crackling of velcro and the clattering of spikes down the home and visitors' stairwells in the pavilion across the day with 17 wickets falling and players turning the bacon-and-egg tie clad Long Room into a revolving door.
Tellingly in the Black Caps innings, 59 of the first 66 balls leading to the first drinks were dots or wickets. New Zealand's batting was guilty of hesitancy outside off stump, but England executed their bowling and fielding with precision.
The Black Caps top order formed what resembled a Fibonacci sequence – Will Young 1, Tom Latham 1, Kane Williamson 2, Devon Conway 3. Oh, the relief when Daryl Mitchell moved from five to nine with a rare boundary.
The knowledgeable Lord's crowd had just finished a round of applause as New Zealand moved to 27 for four – past their own world record lowest score of 26 from 1955 - when Mitchell chopped on to Potts for 13.
The right-armer also had Williamson caught behind by Ben Foakes. The captain's soft hands failed him once too often.
Potts also seared through Tom Blundell's stumps for 14 and pouched two catches at long leg off Anderson before an adoring Mound Stand.
He took four for 13 from 9.2 overs before suffering cramp. Anderson finished with four for 66 from 16 overs.
New Zealand had already endured what they hoped was a cosmetic blemish, slipping to 19 for six against the First-Class Counties XI at Chelmsford, so this presented a further blow to their batting credibility.
The argument that McCullum's appointment might have spooked the visitors is also too simplistic.
In a global cricketing village anyone could gather intellectual property which might prove parlous to the New Zealand cause. Such analysis would seem mandatory for any opponent coming up against world champions.
However, you could sympathise if a number of senior Black Caps felt unsettled when they glanced at the home dressing room to see Big Brother sitting on the balcony armed with trade secrets.
