England vs. New Zealand, 1st Test, Day 1: Highlights, Scorecard, Report

England recovered from a torrid start to take the honours on the opening day of the first Test with New Zealand at Lord’s.

Having been put in to bat on a pitch with more than a tinge of green, England lost their top four—including under-pressure captain Alastair Cook—with a mere 30 on the board.

But superb knocks from Joe Root (98) and Ben Stokes (92) put England on the front foot, and although Jos Buttler was out to the final ball of the day, they are well placed at 354 for seven.

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls
A Lyth	c †Watling b Southee	7	17
AN Cook*	c †Watling b Henry	16	36
GS Ballance	c Southee b Boult	1	9
IR Bell	b Henry	1	8
JE Root	c Latham b Henry	98	161
BA Stokes	b Craig	92	94
JC Buttler	lbw Boult	67	126
MM Ali	not out	49	92
Extras	(b 12, lb 6, w 2, nb 3)	23
Total	(6 wickets; 90 overs)	354
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
TA Boult	24	4	70	2
TG Southee	19	1	82	1
MJ Henry	24	3	93	3
MD Craig	18	2	77	1
CJ Anderson	5	1	14	0

Adam Lyth had no nerves on debut as he took the first ball, the first English player to do so since 1993, and he got off the mark with a scampered single.

"

Adam Lyth is the first England debutant to face the first ball of a test match since Mark Lathwell in 1993 #bbccricket

— Test Match Special (@bbctms) May 21, 2015"

New Zealand probed with full balls outside off stump and it paid dividends in the eighth over. Tim Southee found a bit of extra bounce and Lyth feathered the ball behind to wicketkeeper BJ Watling. Replays suggested he may have missed the ball, and Lyth consulted his partner but reluctantly walked off without reviewing.

Maybe if he'd been playing in his 10th Test as opposed to his first, Lyth may have had the confidence to go for the review.

England skipper Cook came into the game with huge pressure on his shoulders, and after exiting stage left having made a scratchy 16, that has only increased.

While Lyth and Gary Ballance exited to decent balls, Cook fell to a sucker bouncer from Matt Henry. Rather than allowing the ball to go harmlessly through to the 'keeper, he chased it and gloved it through to Watling.

"

Oh Lordy, that's not the way to do it. A loose bouncer, down leg side, a wild flap, England are in all sort of bother as Cook falls #ENGvNZ

— Andrew Miller (@miller_cricket) May 21, 2015"

When Ian Bell was dismissed by a beauty from Henry that pitched, straightened and took the top of off stump, England were in real trouble at 30 for four.

The flurry of wickets certainly caught out Moeen, who had been having a net and was forced to dash back and put on his whites.

"

England 30-4, Moeen Ali has to cut his net short and run back to get ready to bat [Pic: @almurray] #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/BA9xQDrWKX

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) May 21, 2015"

Stokes strode out at six to join Root at the crease, and they set about rebuilding the innings.

While the likes of Cook and Ballance suggested England were batting on a minefield, Root left the impression that Lord’s was a featherbed. In truth, it was somewhere in between—with Root’s class making the pitch look better than it was.

Root stroked the ball around superbly, Stokes mixed aggression with solid defence and the pair took England to 113 for four at lunch.

The momentum gained before lunch continued into the afternoon, with Stokes the dominant partner. The Durham all-rounder struck 15 fours and a six and looked well set for a century, only to gift his wicket to Mark Craig when shouldering arms to a ball that did not turn and crashed into off stump.

Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Root was calmness personified through the afternoon and into the evening session, but he—like Stokes—fell in the 90s. On 98, Root went after a wide one from Henry and bottom-edged through to Tom Latham who took the gloves off Watling.

England were on 251 when Root departed, and a flurry of wickets would have tipped the balance in favour of New Zealand, but Buttler and Moeen batted with real confidence to take England past 350.

New Zealand looked jaded towards the end of the day, but they had the final word as Trent Boult trapped Buttler lbw with the final ball of the day.

With the weather set fair for the next couple of days, England will look to build their total on Friday before putting pressure on New Zealand with the ball.