England’s new era got off to a dream start at Lord’s as they left New Zealand in disarray at 39 for six on the first morning of the first LV= Insurance Test.
Led for the first time by the captain-coach pairing of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, with new director of cricket Rob Key also watching on, England enjoyed a glorious start at the home of cricket.
A dismal sequence of one victory in 17 attempts was banished as wickets tumbled, with returning veterans James Anderson and Stuart Broad offering reminders of their enduring class before debutant Matthew Potts took over with three wickets in his first spell in international cricket.
Jonny Bairstow, retained ahead of the in-form Harry Brook following his recent Indian Premier League stint, also played his part with three catches in the slips.
The only disappointment in the opening session came when spinner Jack Leach, making his first home appearance since 2019, injured himself in the field and withdrew from the match with symptoms of concussion. Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson was summoned as England’s first ever concussion substitute and will debut when he arrives.
Stokes’ first act as the country’s 81st Test captain was to lose the toss, but everything else fell into place as ball dominated bat in the opening exchanges.
Stokes and McCullum were both clear that recalling Anderson and Broad was their first priority of their reign, overturning a controversial decision to drop the pair in the West Indies, and 39-year-old Anderson needed just seven deliveries to reopen his record tally.
Challenging Will Young with just enough swing from a full length, he took the outside edge and saw Bairstow leap into action at third slip, diving low to his left to pull off a one-handed stunner.
England have been weak in the cordon for some time, but Bairstow’s handiwork was flawless here. The Yorkshireman juggled his next attempt when Tom Latham nicked the metronomic Anderson, but he clung on at the second time of asking to make it two for two.
Not to be outdone for long, Broad was rewarded for a consistently attacking length when Devon Conway made it three in a row for the alert Bairstow as optimism surged around the old ground.
Having seen the seasoned duo set the tone, Potts then made the case for the next generation. The Durham seamer struck gold with his fifth delivery in the international arena, with Kiwi captain and star batter Kane Williamson edging low to keeper Ben Foakes to leave his side 12 for four.
Potts continued his impressive start and grabbed another two before the break, Daryl Mitchell (13) playing into his own stumps and Tom Blundell losing his off stump to one that nipped back.
The 23-year-old left the field with figures of three for eight in eight overs, a superb introduction.
