ENG vs NZ: Late strikes leave New Zealand reeling after 17 wickets fall on day 2 at Lord's

After a 16-wicket opening day, the first Test between England and New Zealand continued to move at a rapid pace as another 17 wickets fell on Day 2 at Lord’s. Chasing a 254-run target, New Zealand finished on 36/3 at the close of play, still 218 runs adrift.

A dramatic final session saw the Kiwis lose their captain Tom Latham (0 off 3), Kane Williamson (18 off 36) and night watchman William O'Rourke (0 off 6) as Gus Atkison (2/10) and Josh Tongue (1/10) helped England tighten their grip on the Test match.

Earlier, England got bundled out for 226 in their second innings as Nathan Smith (6/70) starred with a five-wicket haul for the visitors. For the hosts, debutant Emilio Gay emerged as the top run scorer, registering his maiden half-century (57 off 95) in Tests.

New Zealand’s first innings also closed out earlier in the day, with the visitors getting folded for 113 in 29.5 overs in the first innings in reply to England’s score of 140.

Ollie Robinson takes a five-for on return

The day began with New Zealand resuming their first innings on 61/6, trailing by 79 runs. It took just five deliveries for England to make further inroads into the New Zealand batting lineup as Josh Tongue (3/40) shattered a well-set Glenn Phillips’ (34 off 39) stumps.

In his next over, he breached Nathan Smith’s (15 off 18) defence to leave the Kiwis on 82/8 in 23 overs. While wickets continued to tumble, Kyle Jamieson (38* off 29) played some shots to whittle away the deficit. However, he ran out of partners, with Gus Atkinson (2/9) getting rid of William ORourke (1 off 17), while Ollie Robinson (5/39) shattered Matt Henry’s stumps to register his fourth five-wicket haul in Tests.

As a result, New Zealand were bundled out for 113 in 29.5 overs, giving England a 27-run lead in the first innings. The hosts had an improved start to their second innings with openers Ben Duckett (33 off 46) and Emilio Gay (57 off 95) adding 52 runs for the first wicket off 76 balls.

Duckett came out playing his shots as he raced to 33 in no time with the help of six boundaries. On the other hand, Gay got his head down and settled against the new ball before breaking free.

Emilio Gay scores fifty on debut

William O'Rourke drew first blood for the Kiwis, getting Duckett holed out to gully.  In the second session, Jacob Bethell and Gay’s partnership began to flourish, with the duo making the most of the reprieves provided by New Zealand.

Matt Henry finally ended the misery by cleaning up Bethell with a delivery that stayed low. However, Gay took the attack to Nathan Smith and brought up his half-century on debut.

Nathan Smith runs through England

Smith had the last laugh four overs later after making the opener poke at one outside the off stump and the edge carried to Tom Blundell behind the stumps. At the other end, O’Rourke (2/46) dismissed Harry Brook lbw for a four-ball duck, while Smith also got into the groove and removed Joe Root and Ben Stokes in the following over.

England lost four wickets in a space of 11 deliveries and were reduced to 127/6. With their team in desperate need of a partnership, Jamie Smith (39 off 52) and Gus Atkinson (14 off 32) added 57 runs for the seventh wicket, before Jamieson (1/41) caught the latter of his own bowling.

Ollie Robinson (29 off 30) also added crucial runs down the order, before Nathan Smith cleaned up the tail to register his second five-wicket haul in Tests.