Debutant Emilio Gay was an early casualty before rain interrupted England’s first Test of the summer at Lord’s.
Gay, picked to replace Zak Crawley on the back of a mountain of county runs for Durham, was handed his England cap by fellow Bedford School alumnus Sir Alastair Cook ahead of the opening day of the Rothesay Test series against New Zealand.
But his big day turned sour when he nicked Kyle Jamieson to first slip for just eight in the sixth over of the morning. The players were forced off by heavy showers soon after, with England 24 for one.
Gay’s runs came from two confident shots, stroking his first ball in international cricket for four with a crisp square drive and then doubling his tally with a firm punch down the ground.
But the visiting attack was always likely to provide a stern examination after Tom Latham won the toss and chose to bowl under murky skies. Jamieson, standing 6ft 8in tall, was making his first appearance for the Black Caps since February 2024 and, after a couple of wayward deliveries early on, pitched up around off stump and shaped it away up the slope.
Gay nudged forward in defence but edged straight to Daryl Mitchell, who snapped up the catch at first slip.
Fellow opener Ben Duckett held firm for 12 not out, giving an early indication that he may have tweaked his methods after a poor Ashes series for both himself and the team over the winter. Renowned as a batter who almost never leaves the ball, the left-hander offered no stroke three times in the first over of the day from Matt Henry.
England have promised to add some street smarts to their previously frantic attacking game and Duckett’s more cautious start appeared to turn those words into actions.
Jacob Bethell, newly arrived from the Indian Premier League and with no red-ball cricket to his name since his stunning century in Sydney five months ago, played and missed at a couple as he looked for his rhythm but was still in place with four runs to his name as the rain intervened.
