Key events<\/p>\n
6th over: England 18-1 (Duckett 8, Bethell 2) It wasn\u2019t just a good ball: Daryl Mitchell took a good catch, down by his ankles at first slip. So Gay has to go and here\u2019s another young left-hander, Jacob Bethell, whose last Test innings was his first Test hundred at Sydney, in fact his first in first-class cricket. He\u2019s strong on the back foot and shows it immediately with a cut for two.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.29 EDT<\/p>\n WICKET! Gay c Mitchell b Jamieson 8 (England 16-1)<\/p>\n Ah what a shame for Emilio Gay\u2026 but it does take a good ball to get rid of him. Jamieson finds the line, the length, the lift and the edge.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.26 EDT<\/p>\n 5th over: England 15-0 (Duckett 7, Gay 8) England get their first runs that actually involve some running as Duckett tucks Henry off his hip for two. Then the openers change ends for the first time as Duckett repeats the shot to a ball that swings in late. The skies are still a darker shade of grey.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 4th over: England 12-0 (Duckett 4, Gay 8) England are getting \u2019em in boundaries. Gay gets a full ball from Jamieson and on-drives for four, holding the pose. \u201cNothing wrong with that,\u201d says Nasser Hussain. \u201cIt means you\u2019re in a good technical position.\u201d The next ball beats Gay outside off and for a moment Tom Blundell thinks there\u2019s a thin edge. Then he tries his first cut and doesn\u2019t middle it at all. Nasser blames the pitch: \u201cthe bounce on the first morning is non-existent.\u201d The over ends with a stifled appeal for LBW. Jamieson is finding his radar.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 3rd over: England 8-0 (Duckett 4, Gay 4) Duckett, facing Henry again, finally finds the middle of the bat. He drives the first ball to mid-off and the second to the boundary at extra-cover, with conviction.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 2nd over: England 4-0 (Duckett 0, Gay 4) Jamieson manages to land the other five balls and find some swing, but his line and length are all over the place. There\u2019s one decent ball, drawing a leading edge from Gay which never looks like carrying to the cordon.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 2nd over, first ball: England 4-0 (Duckett 0, Gay 4) It\u2019s Kyle Jamieson and he has a present for Emilio Gay: a full toss! Gay guides it away behind square and smiles like a man who wasn\u2019t expecting that.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1st over: England 0-0 (Duckett 0, Gay 0) The bowler is Matt Henry, the first ball a damp squib \u2013 a grubber outside off. Duckett leaves it, and the next one, which at least reaches the keeper aboce his ankles. Duckett does play at the third ball, and misses! He leaves the fourth and nudges the fifth and sixth. That may be the most sedate over of Duckett\u2019s career.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The bell is rung by Emma Crowe, daughter of Martin, another fine player who didn\u2019t live all that long. The series is being played for the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy. The anthems are sung. The England players head off with a few squeezes of the hand for Emilio Gay. The New Zealanders gather in a huddle. The openers, Gay and Ben Duckett, half-run to the middle.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The teams come out \u2013 both teams, in full, to take their places in one long, elegant line. Emilio Gay leans his bat against an ad hoarding and chews his gum. There\u2019s a minute\u2019s silence, the announcer says, \u201cas we remember some of the greats of our game\u201d. The faces on the scoreboard include Robin Smith and Hugh Morris, both gone too soon, and the equally well-loved MJK Smith.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.57 EDT<\/p>\n The second email of the day comes from inside the ground. \u201cMorning Tim,\u201d says Nick Parish. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long and winding road to me first seeing a Test match at Lord\u2019s. In 2022 I had tickets for the fourth day against South Africa and England lost in 3 days. In 2024 I had tickets for the fourth day against West Indies \u2013 I guess that was marginally better, because at least that time England won in 3 days.<\/p>\n \u201cLearning from my mistakes, this year I have gone for the first day, only to face a tube strike and an apocalyptic weather forecast only a week after it was 33C. However I\u2019m here, with a smile and the requisite two tinnies, and very much looking forward to it all. However much \u2018it all\u2019 is.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoping you have a ball. Or even 540 balls.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Teams in full<\/p>\n England 1 Ben Duckett, 2 Emilio Gay, 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wkt), 7 Ben Stokes (capt), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 Josh Tongue, 11 Shoaib Bashir.<\/p>\n New Zealand 1 Tom Latham (capt), 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Dary Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wkt), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Nathan Smith, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Will O\u2019Rourke.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Teams in brief<\/p>\n New Zealand have opted for the extra seamer, so the promising Nathan Smith squeezes out the venerable Mitch Santner. England have taken the opposite tack, preferring Shoaib Bashir\u2019s mercurial off-breaks to Sonny Baker\u2019s untried pace. The toss makes both decisions look better, as the team bowling last (England) will be the one with the specialist spinner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Toss: NZ put England in<\/p>\n The toss has taken place! Tom Latham wins it and says he\u2019ll have a bowl, as most captains would under these leaden skies. That makes it an even bigger moment for Emilio Gay, who has just been presented with his England cap by Alastair Cook. They both went to the same school, Bedford. Are they also members of the same school of batsmanship? We\u2019ll soon see.<\/p>\n Ben Stokes loses the toss and Tom Latham puts England in. Photograph: Gareth Copley\/ECB\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.08 EDT<\/p>\n The first email of the day comes from Tim Harnedy. \u201cOh my God the radar,\u201d it begins. \u201cLooking at the deluge making its way up the M4 towards London, I\u2019m not sure how much use it is asking for help finding a way listening to Test Match Special over here in Ireland, but any hints gratefully accepted.<\/p>\n \u201cIreland didn\u2019t provide a particularly stern test for New Zealand in the match at Belfast, but the weather was better. Maybe England should visit for a match sometime?\u201d<\/p>\n They certainly should.<\/p>\n