New Zealand 195/4 at tea

NOTTINGHAM: England’s Joe Root dropped a catch and Zak Crawley let slip another chance as New Zealand reached 195 for four at tea on the opening day of the second Test at Trent Bridge here on Friday.

England had grabbed back-to-back wickets just before lunch after a strong start by the visitor. Without COVID-19-struck captain Kane Williamson and put in to bat after losing the toss, New Zealand made the highest opening Test stand at the ground since 2005 before both openers departed in the space of two balls.

England captain Ben Stokes provided the breakthrough, taking the ball and having top scorer Will Young (47) caught by a diving Crawley at second slip. New Zealand had been 84/0 and it was 84/2 when stand-in captain Tom Latham (26) was caught by Matthew Potts off James Anderson at mid-wicket.

The tourist went in for lunch at a solid 108 for two from 26 overs, a far cry from its 39 for six on a difficult opening day of the first Test at Lord’s. Anderson and Stokes took a pair of wickets each. New Zealand was 161 for three when Ben Foakes caught Henry Nicholls (30) behind off Stokes and the Black Caps slipped to 169 for four after the wicketkeeper repeated the feat with Devon Conway (46) from an Anderson delivery.

Crawley dived across Root in a failed bid to catch Nicholls while the former England Test skipper missed an easier offering from Daryl Mitchell. England, unchanged from the team that won by five wickets at Lord’s, had opted to bowl to make the most of the conditions on an overcast morning.

“Generally here, the wicket tends to get better as the game goes on, [so it is] good to get it (New Zealand) in early and put some pressure on and get Jimmy (Anderson) and Broady going with the new ball,” said Stokes. Latham took on the New Zealand captaincy after Williamson tested positive for COVID-19 and went into isolation on the eve of the match.

BRIEF SCORES (AT TEA): New Zealand 195/4 in 51 overs (W Young 47, D Conway 46) vs England

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