The word at the end of day one, hard to quibble with in the circumstances, was that the second innings were where this match would be decided. But with 30% of England’s first-innings wickets still standing overnight, this left the remainder of their opening knock in a strange hinterland of presumed irrelevance. It stood overnight like the stump of an already-felled tree, its demise already mourned, nobody expecting it to do much growing. Those already looking beyond it presumably included most of those actually tasked with extending it, minds wandering to exertions still to come with ball rather than bat in hand.
There was a memorable moment in England’s last Test against New Zealand, at Edgbaston last summer, when their second innings stood at stumps at 122, six more than their total here, and with nine wickets down rather than seven. The fielders emerged the following morning and took their positions, the batters walked to the middle, the crowd settled and silenced. Olly Stone took his guard, Trent Boult took the ball, the ball took the edge, the keeper took the catch, and they all turned around and headed off again.
Minds drifted back to that moment as Boult took the ball again on the second morning at Lord’s, with Stuart Broad this time preparing to face him. What followed could hardly have been more different, Boult’s first delivery hopelessly misguided, bouncing sharply over the batter’s right shoulder and away for four byes. History had not been repeated, and perhaps here England’s tail could tell a different, more heroic story.
Broad tried his best to get out to each of the remaining balls he faced, of which there were only four. A couple of years ago he scored 62 off 45 against West Indies at Old Trafford and spoke about “important runs” that “changed the momentum of the innings”. Here was an opportunity to change momentum and score important runs, but one that required discipline and focus and about which he seemed much less keen.
Broad’s batting is increasingly characterised by nothing so much as carelessness, of which he looked guilty again as Tim Southee ripped out his leg stump. In only two of his last 16 Test innings has he scored more than the nine he got here. That day in Manchester his batting average stood at 18.7, but his average since then is 10.5, and in the last 12 months just seven.
Ben Foakes was next out, pushing at a wide delivery from Southee that looked easier to leave. Foakes has averaged 98.75 over six innings for Surrey in the County Championship this year and must have floated to Lord’s on a cloud of confidence, but here there was no evidence of it. There is a feeling that he deserves a run in the team, and England certainly benefit from his skill behind the stumps – he has already taken several fine catches that rivals for the gloves may well have spilled. It is in front of them that his problems lie – this is his 12th Test, and having averaged 41.8 in his first six he has run at 13.7 since – and with Matt Potts at No 8 it is not clear that the team can afford him.
Enter, to great applause, Matt Parkinson. England’s unlikely debutant, summoned from Manchester on Thursday as Jack Leech’s concussion substitute, was cheered as he strode to the crease, acclaimed as he turned Southee past square leg to take England into the lead, wildly celebrated when he pushed the same bowler down the ground for a beautifully-timed four, and instantly forgiven when he edged Boult to first slip, barely half an hour after the start of play. Little had been expected of England’s tail, and little had been delivered. Perhaps it needs a little more attention.
