Ollie Robinson began his England Test comeback in stunning style with three wickets in his first over as New Zealand closed on 61-6 in reply to the hosts’ 140 all out on a breathless, rain-affected opening day of the men’s international summer at Lord’s.
Robinson, exiled since early 2024 due to fitness issues but now recalled as England seek control in their bowling line-up after the chastening 4-1 Ashes defeat, removed Devon Conway (1), Kane Williamson (0) and Rachin Ravindra (0) in the space of four balls.
There has never been any doubt about the Sussex seamer’s skill – he bagged 76 wickets in his first 20 Tests at an average below 23 – and he displayed that on Thursday, albeit in extremely juicy conditions, as he helped England shred the Black Caps’ top order.
Robinson pinned Conway and Ravindra lbw around having the great Williamson caught at short leg by England debutant Emilio Gay during a triple-wicket-maiden, with Ravindra’s dismissal, to the final delivery of the second over, leaving New Zealand 2-3.
The 32-year-old (4-10 from six overs) then returned to bowl Daryl Mitchell (12) as the Kiwi batter played a costly leave, while Gus Atkinson trapped Tom Latham (3) lbw and Josh Tongue splattered the stumps of Tom Blundell (4) for his 50th Test wicket as the visitors closed a remarkable 16-wicket day 79 runs in arrears.
It was a truly frantic start to England’s post-Ashes reset, with Harry Brook (56 off 71 balls) and New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips (31no off 34) the only batters on either team to reach 20.
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England suffered a dramatic collapse from 31-1 to 34-4 as Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell and Joe Root fell at Lord’s
England rolled by New Zealand before Robinson lights up Lord’s
Ben Stokes’ side were guilty of a raft of soft dismissals during the drubbing Down Under, with much of the talk since, particularly from head coach Brendon McCullum across multiple media assignments over the last week, about playing “smarter” cricket.
A quick glance at the scorecard would suggest that did not happen but their skittling in 39.4 overs was down to the visitors’ pinpoint seam attack way more than injudicious shots, with Kyle Jamieson (5-62), Nathan Smith (3-38) and Will O’Rourke (2-25) excelling as a back spasm limited fellow quick Matt Henry to four overs.
Opener Gay (8) edged a corker from Jamieson – who snaffled his sixth five-wicket haul in just 20 Tests in his first five-day fixture in over two years – having got off the mark by nailing the same bowler’s full toss for four and then striking a delicious boundary through mid-on in the giant New Zealand quick’s second over.
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New England opener Emilio Gay hit two boundaries on debut before he was caught behind off giant New Zealand seamer Kyle Jamieson
Brook, one of those to gift his wicket in The Ashes, profited from drops on eight and 45 – Conway, at backward point, and Ravindra, in the deep, the guilty parties respectively – as he counterpunched from 55-5.
England lost three wickets for three runs from 31-1 after an initial two-hour rain delay had come with the hosts 24-1 after 10 overs – Ben Duckett (19) and Jacob Bethell (2) were pinned lbw while Joe Root (1) edged a lifter from O’ Rourke to slip.
Jamie Smith (1) then shouldered arms to a delivery from Jamieson and had his off stump clattered, while the man he had swapped places with in the batting order, captain Stokes (12), fell to a spectacular one-handed catch from Williamson at slip after Jamieson induced the edge.
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New Zealand great Kane Williamson took a stunning one-handed grab at slip to dismiss England captain Ben Stokes for 12
Jamieson then accounted for Atkinson (4) and Robinson (1) around another stoppage for rain and bad light, while he also took the catch at deep fine leg to remove Brook after the batter hauled a leg-side delivery from Nathan Smith in his direction.
Brook clubbed 10 boundaries during his half-century, reaching fifty from 64 deliveries, and it may turn out to be a crucial intervention with this game threatening to be a low-scorer.
Shoaib Bashir (14) and Tongue (10no) added 22 for the final wicket – the second-highest stand of the innings, behind only the 39 Brook and Stokes had put on for the sixth wicket – and then it was over to Robinson to show England what they had been missing.
Robinson: I thought I’d never play for England again
England seam bowler Ollie Robinson, speaking to Sky Sports:
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Ollie Robinson reflects on a special return to Test cricket, which saw him take four New Zealand wickets on the first day of the first Test.
“I can’t really put this into words right now. It feels a bit surreal. I couldn’t have dreamt it, to be honest. It’s been an amazing couple of hours, and it’s just so good to be back.
“There were obviously doubts. I thought at Christmas time, I was never playing for England again. To get back in and get the support of everyone, it been amazing. So special.
“When we looked at the pitch this morning, it looked like it was going to play a lot better than it did. New Zealand obviously bowled really well against us and we knew we had to follow suit.
“To get then six down there at the end was a great effort from everyone.”
Watch day two of the first Test between England and New Zealand, at Lord’s, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 10.15am on Friday. Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.
