England lost four big wickets in 11 balls as the first Rothesay Test against New Zealand raced towards a hasty conclusion on an increasingly unpredictable Lord’s pitch.
After 16 wickets on a rain-shortened first day, a jarringly one-sided battle between bat and ball saw another 10 tumble by tea on day two.
A battling 57 from debutant Emilio Gay appeared to put his side in full control of a low-scoring contest – 153 ahead and only two down – but things changed dramatically in a 10 minutes of mayhem.
Unnerved by a surface offering the lethal concoction of lavish seam movement and inconsistent bounce, England saw Gay, Harry Brook, Joe Root and Ben Stokes fall one after the other for the addition of just one run. Earlier, Jacob Bethell had been undone by a shin-high shooter that left him no chance of survival.
Jamie Smith (31no) stopped the rot, carrying England to 166 for six at tea for a lead of 193.
Just as England’s returning hero Ollie Robinson had done on his way to career-best figures of five for 39, the New Zealand pack took full advantage of conditions as they attacked the stumps and let the ball do the rest.
The day began with England turning New Zealand’s overnight score of 61 for six into 113 all out – enough to put them 27 in front.
Josh Tongue set the tone for another bowler-friendly day by knocking over Glenn Phillips’ off stump with his first ball of the morning then jagging one dramatically off the pitch to bowl Nathan Smith.
A punchy 38 not out from tailender Kyle Jamieson took the Kiwis past three figures, with some baffling short-pitched bowling inviting him to launch three quickfire sixes, but Will O’Rourke and Matt Henry were quickly rounded up. Robinson nailed the latter’s middle stump to complete his fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket and ensure his rousing return after more than two years would end with a place on the historic honours board.
By lunch, England had carved a strong position for themselves at 72 for one. Ben Duckett, dropped on 12 by Rachin Ravindra, was the man to go for 33 with Gay showing admirable nerve to find his way through a tough new-ball examination.
He would have been out for 24 in the first over of the afternoon had New Zealand reviewed an lbw shout but instead they let the appeal go to waste. When they did send one upstairs moments later, Bethell was reprieved by a sliver.
The error count ratcheted up when Devon Conway spilled Bethell on eight at backward, his second drop and New Zealand’s fourth of the match. An ugly grubber from Henry sent England’s number three back before he had a chance to cash in but Gay’s 95-ball half-century was close to making things safe.
Then came New Zealand’s fightback. First Gay nicked a beauty from Nathan Smith, then O’Rourke toppled Brook lbw for a four-ball duck. Root was clipped in front of leg from the very next ball and Stokes continued his lean run with the bat when he was bowled past his outside edge for nought.
