England face old demons to squander the toss advantage

You don’t often see a batting side dominate on Day 1 of a Test match after being put in to bat first in England. New Zealand, through another mammoth stand between Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell, did exactly that as the visitors ended Day 1 of the Trent Bridge Test at 318/4. The duo forged a 195-run stand at Lord’s. In Nottingham, their fifth-wicket partnership stands at 149 not out, ushering the Kiwis into a position of solidarity. While New Zealand enjoyed their time out in the sun, a number of age-old issues left England hard done.

One-dimensional attack and dry surfaces don’t go hand in hand

“Get them in early and put some pressure on with the new ball again,” said Ben Stokes while opting to bowl first. Was there a bit of a hangover of the Lord’s Test in this decision? It is tough to take a call on that New Zealand’s stand-in skipper, Tom Latham said he would have done the same thing, anticipating a bit of movement early on. “A little bit of a green tinge but also looks a bit dry as well,” is how Latham anticipated it. 

Unfortunately for England, it was the latter trait that took the center stage at Trent Bridge. Dry has mostly meant demons for the English bowling attack and for the nth time, even in home conditions, they were left wanting for more because of the lack of lateral movement. 

New Zealand raced to 47 for no loss at the first drinks break (14 overs of play). By lunch, both openers were back in the hut but conceding 108 runs in 26 overs had pushed them on the backfoot. The ball swung briefly in the second session which was the only period of play when the England seamers appeared threatening. On both sides of this phase, their struggle to create inroads was another reminder of the absence of a bonafide enforcer in the attack. 

The one-dimensional attack of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Motty Potts was not apt for this pitch. The fact that England delivered only 15 overs of full-pitched out of a total of 66 overs bowled by the pacers tells the tale. Anderson, one of the finest exponents of the full-length balls, pitched only 13 percent of his deliveries in that area. 

England clearly missed Mark Wood on the first day who has been their most impactful bowler in such phases of lull. He is nursing an elbow injury at present. The other two 140kph+ seamers to have represented England in the last four years - Jofra Archer and Olly Stone - are also injured. The only difference is that they are nursing back fractures. 

It is this very issue that has halted their dreams of an Ashes win Down Under. But squandering the toss advantage due to the same reason in home conditions must also be a danger in the heart. 

Letting it ‘slip’ again

Add to that the rueful fielding. In a carnage of wickets in the Lord’s win, the slip catching was the biggest tick for England. However, like most good things in their red-ball cricket at present, this also turned out to be a transient feature. 

Henry Nicholls was on 17 when Zak Crawley parried away what would have been a regulation catch for Joe Root at first slip. Towards the end of the day, contrastingly, he was the culprit for not reacting at all. Blundell edged one between him and Jonny Bairstow standing in the slip cordon. It was England’s last chance at breaking the stand which was 143 at that moment. Also, it was Stuart Broad’s last chance to salvage an otherwise forgetful day.

Yet, this was not the costliest drop of the day. Root spilled a straightforward chance when Mitchell was on 3. The right-hander is unbeaten on 81 at stumps, eyeing his second hundred of the series. Root also failed to grasp a tough chance of Blundell when the right-hander was on 47 (unbeaten 67 at stumps). 

On a pitch that didn’t suit the style of their pacers, giving four reprives is a cardinal sin. AB de Villiers rarely talks about cricket narratives on his Twitter but the aforementioned mishaps in the field spilled some gospel from his end.

Given the flow of this Test match, there is a good chance we might come back to these dropped chances that have allowed the BlackCaps to finish the day at 318/4. 

The new era of England’s red-ball cricket was off to a good start at Lord’s. On Day 1 at Trent Bridge, they have faced the old demons with the bowl and in the field. They will hope the same is not the case when it is their turn to bat.