STATS HIGHLIGHTS
Follow UsThere were ebbs and flows in this match. New Zealand bounced back by dismissing England for 141 in the second innings after they were dismissed 132 in the first. Daryll Mitchell and Tom Blundell put on a fighting partnership of 195 in the third innings to help New Zealand to set a target of 277. However, it was Joe Root’s masterclass, supported equally by the new skipper Ben Stokes and wicket-keeper Ben Foakes, that helped England sail through.
Root, quickest to 10k runs in terms of time taken
The past few years have been sensational for Root in the longer format of the game. He was the only batter to hit 1000 runs in a year in 2021, recorded the most runs as a captain before resigning and many more.
In the first Test against New Zealand, Root, one of the modern-day greats, reached the 10000-run mark, making him the first batter born in the 90’s to achieve the feat. From his debut in December 2012 till the start date of this match, Root took nine years and 171 days to breach the 10k-run barrier. Hence, in terms of time taken, he became the fastest batter.
To add more, Root reached the landmark at the age of 31 years and 158 days, which is the second youngest by a batter after Sir Alastair Cook (31 years and 157 days).
Root registers his first ton in the 4th innings
Chasing 277, Root walked in when England were at 32/2. Then, he witnessed Ollie Pope (10) and Jonny Bairstow (16) fall cheaply. However, a 90-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Stokes and an unbeaten 120-run partnership with Foakes for the sixth wicket steered England to a win.
Despite scoring nearly 9000 runs at the start of this match, Root didn’t have a single 100 in the fourth innings. England couldn’t have hoped for a better match for Root to register his first ton in the fourth innings. Previously, his best score of 87, came against Australia in Adelaide in 2013.
Potts fiery spell on debut
After contracting with COVID and then suffering a fitness setback, Ollie Robinson was ruled out of the first Test. The option was between Craig Overton and Matthew Potts, and the latter was preferred ahead.
From the first over, Potts justified his selection when he removed New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, in his fifth ball. Later on, he went on to dismiss Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell in quick succession. An injury in the first innings, denied him a five-for. Nevertheless, the 13 runs he conceded in the first innings are the third least conceded by a bowler on debut in a 4+wicket-haul.
To add more, he had a match figures of 7/68, which is the third best match spell by an England bowler on debut in this century. ICYMI, Potts dismissed Williamson in both innings without conceding a run.
NZ top four’s worst outing
Valiant efforts from Mitchell and Blundell in New Zealand’s second innings wasn’t enough to help them win the Test. More than that, little contributions from their top four in each innings would have added to the cause.
But, that wasn’t the case. In the first innings, none of their top four batters scored more than five runs and in their second innings, they added only 43 runs in total. Overall, the top four in this match added only 50 runs. Only in their match against India in 1999 in Kanpur, their top four added less (45 runs).
A spirited partnership in vain
With only 56 runs and a lead of 45 at the fall of fourth wicket, New Zealand were in shambles in the second innings. But, Mitchell and Blundell came together to forge a massive partnership of 195 for the fifth wicket.
In this century, the 195-run partnership between the two batters was the highest fifth wicket partnership at the Lord’s. Overall, their partnership was the fourth highest at the venue in Tests for the fifth wicket. To emboss more, this was also New Zealand’s highest fifth wicket partnership in Tests after losing their fourth wicket for less than 60 runs (<=59).
Two batters stranded in nineties overnight
After ensuring a wicket-less third session on day two, Mitchell and Blundell ended the day with a rare stat. Both batsmen were stuck in 90s, Mitchell on 97* and Blundell on 90*. In Tests, this was only the third time where two batters remained unbeaten in 90s overnight.
However, Mitchell went on to register a century on the first ball of day 3 and unfortunately, Blundell was dismissed on 96. In 1974, from the same situation, Denis Amiss went on to score 174 from his overnight score of 92 and Geoff Boycott was dismissed for 93 from his overnight score of 91.
Jamieson, NZ’s best in first 15 matches
The tall fast bowler from New Zealand, Kyle Jamieson, has been exceptional in his first few outings. Making his debut in 2020, has picked up 20+ wickets in each of the three years he has played so far. He was the quickest New Zealand bowler to 50 wickets (9 matches), beating Shane Bond’s record in 12 matches.
In this match, the fast bowler once again piped Bond’s record. In the first 15 Tests, Bond had 71 wickets, the most for a New Zealand bowler. But, with the wicket of Stokes in the second innings, Jamieson went past Bond’s 71 wickets to register the most wickets in the first 15 Tests. To add more, overall, among pacers who have bagged 50+ wickets in their first 15 Tests, his average of 18.5 is the fifth best.
Two innings of low
Opting to bat first, New Zealand were bundled out for a paltry total of 132 in the first innings. Following a good start, England crumbled from 59/0 to a 141 after none of their batters from three to 11 scored more than 15.
From both innings, an aggregate of 273 runs were scored in the first two innings. In a Test at Lord’s, only in the match between England (53) and Australia (116) in 1888, the first two innings had witnessed a lower aggregate total (169) after losing all 20 wickets.
