Test cricket analysis: Five talking points from England’s Test win over New Zealand

England wiped away their winter blues as they started the Test summer with a victory over New Zealand at Lord’s.

The Three Lions won by 115 runs across just four days, despite persistent weather delays, with less than 170 overs played in the match.

Performances from the likes of Emilio Gay, who top scored in the match with 57, plus Ollie Robinson and Gus Atkinson (both of whom getting 5-fers) led much of the conversation.

Here, Sports News Blitz writer Jacob Hibbert looks at five talking points from the match which marked the start of the three match Test series.

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Seam attack solved?

Only four bowlers were used by the hosts throughout the match - Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue & Ben Stokes - with the latter only bowling seven overs. 

The other three all contributed at least five wickets throughout the contest.

Sussex captain Robinson took the spotlight and was awarded Player of the Match as he returned to the England side for the first time in two years with figures of 7/77 in the match.

Speaking with Sky Sports, he admitted there was a time he “never thought [he’d] be back on the pitch for England”.

Filling the shoes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who have over 1300 Test wickets between them, was never going to be easy. 

England have tried a few bowlers since the pair retired. Brydon Carse played his part in the side, but looks to be out of contention after a poor Ashes down under.

Sam Cook seems to have little chance after his shot last summer, despite averaging less than 20 in the County Championship this season.

And it is becoming all the more challenging to rely on the injury-prone duo of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.

However, the combination of pace and skill from this England bowling attack has shown promise in its early stages.

A new opener in town

As batting conditions go, it doesn’t get much harder than it did at Lord’s during the first Test - overcast, varied bounce and a ball that was seaming around corners.

This is why the performance of Emilio Gay has not gone unnoticed by fans, scoring 65 runs in the match.

A gritty 57 from 95 balls in the second innings meant he became the first opener on debut for England to get a half century since Andrew Strauss in 2004. 

There was plenty of competition for Zak Crawley’s spot in the England side as his time ran out following a start to the County Championship season which has seen him averaging just over 20 runs. 

Asa Tribe, Ben McKinney, Dom Sibley and James Rew were all names that had been mentioned but ultimately Gay’s early season form for Durham which saw him averaging nearly 80 got him the nod despite batting at three for his county side.

If he bats with the confidence and quality he showed on debut at just 26 years old, it could be his spot for many years to come.

READ MORE: Test cricket betting tips: Suggested bets for England vs New Zealand and India vs Afghanistan 

Broken home of cricket

One of the biggest talking points from the Test was not the performance of the players, but the performance of the pitch.

Lord’s marked its 150th test match, but it was not all celebration as the ground received criticism from players & pundits alike.

Sky pundit and former England Captain Nasser Hussain described it as “sub-standard” and said that “batting becomes impossible” when a pitch behaves the way it did. 

His views were supported by colleague and former New Zealand bowler Simon Doulle who said the square “needs replacing”.

England coach Brendon McCullum's views did not seem as negative. When speaking to the BBC he described it as “a very different challenge”.

The MCC released a statement on their Instagram, stating: “We hold ourselves to the highest standards and are naturally frustrated when a surface falls short of those expectations”.

Despite the use of methods such as steaming the pitch to purify the soil, it appears that the £12million and two years without cricket resulted in the need to replace the square.

Which may be required in order for it to meet professional standards.

Spin it to win it?

Throughout the whole Test, England did not bowl an over of spin. They had no need to - wickets were tumbling every 24.9 balls across the four innings. This therefore did not help England answer the question about the role a spinner - in particular Shoaib Bashir - plays in a Brendon McCullum test team.

However, with England’s seamers looking very capable, there could be reason to suggest that the part time off-spin from Joe Root and left arm orthodox from Jacob Bethell may provide enough of an option when England need to take pace off. 

The former has 100 wickets for his nation across all formats, including 73 in Tests and Bethell has also picked up a few test wickets when he has bowled.

Bashir averages 39 with the ball for England since making his debut in India in early 2024. Whilst these numbers may sound expensive, Jack Leach who was probably England’s last set spinner averaged more than 34. 

There have been calls for Leicestershire’s Rehan Ahmed to add to his five Tests and 22 wickets this summer. This comes with the potential of bolstering England’s batting, averaging 32.69 in first class cricket.

For now though, it seems that England will continue to put their faith in the Derbyshire off-spinner.

Highs and lows for the Kiwis

The fact that England won the match, is not to say that New Zealand were poor. Their bowling in particular showed signs of strength similar to England’s attack. 

They also had two quicks on the honours board with Kyle Jamieson taking five in the first innings, followed by Nathan Smith’s figures of 6/70 in the second.

Their lead seamer Matt Henry struggled with back spasms throughout the contests, only bowling four overs in the first innings. 

However, the speed of Will O’Rourke combined with the skill of Smith and Jamieson still proved a worthy challenge for England’s batters.

The last time the Kiwis toured England for a Test series, their side included three of their greatest bowlers: Trent Boult, Tim Southee, and Neil Wagner.

Like England, they too have struggled to fill the void left by the departure of these players. In the coming years, it looks like they will have the job of filling the shoes left by Kane Williamson in the batting department too.

For the likes of Ravindra, Smith & O’Rourke, it is their first Test tour of England, and despite the defeat, and in the case of Ravindra - the performance - they are proof there is still plenty of talent coming through the ranks of New Zealand cricket.

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