England vs New Zealand 1st Test, Day 5 Highlights.England vs New Zealand 1st Test, Day 5 Highlights: New Zealand went for the kill on the final day of the first Test against England at Lord’s but the hosts stood firm as they ended on 170/3 at Lord’s in London.
Resuming at 62/2 with a lead of 165 runs, the Kiwis played attacking cricket to build their lead to 272 before lunch. Chasing 273, Joe Root and his men played defensively to guarantee a stalemate. The skipper’s knock of 40 in a vital 80-run stand with Dom Sibley (60*) set the tone of the Test in the final session. After Root’s dismissal, Ollie Pope (20*) partnered Sibley till the end.
Match EndedNew Zealand tour of England, 2021 - 1st Test
England
275 (101.1) u0026 170/3 (70.0)vs
New Zealand
378 (122.4) u0026 169/6 dec (52.3)Match Ended ( Day 5 - 1st Test )
England drew with New Zealand
England drew with New Zealand
Despite New Zealand trying their heart out to win the Test, England showed their resilience with their bat. Sibley (60*) and Pope (20*) made it to the end to help the hosts get a draw. Root's army ended their second innings on 170/3, 103 behind the target.
Sibley finally gets his reward with a single off Southee... a half-century! 161 balls and three boundaries -- a responsible knock that has helped England guide the contest towards a draw. 18 overs left to play. ENG: 141/3 (57 overs), need 132 runs to win
Root, who had loosened his wrists off late hitting some fine fours, finally bites the dust! The skipper accelerated his innings from 10 off 44 to 40 off 71... and fell to a Wagner special. LBW and gone! Nonetheless, excellent rearguard action. ENG: 136/3 (55.3 overs)
After going easy against de Grandhomme, the England pair choose to shift gears. First, Sibley takes on Santner and punishes the spinner with a drive wide of mid-on. His captain Root smacks a four facing Jamieson in the next over. ENG: 92/2 (47 overs)
Still no boundaries in the third session but things are looking rather well for England. Neither Southee nor Wagner can find a breakthrough in this 57-ball partnership between Root (4*) and Sibley (26*). ENG: 67/2 (40 overs), need 206 runs to win
Back for the final session of the Test, Southee and Wagner restart the proceedings. Root and Sibley stick to the gameplan of fetching a draw in Lord's and take it quite nice and easy against the pacers, surviving two LBW shouts. ENG: 60/2 (35 overs)
End of the afternoon session. England have scored 56/2 in the 32 overs they have faced after Lunch. They tried to hang on in this session, losing Burns and Crawley. Will they go for the win in the final session? Will Williamson's decision to declare make the next session a deathmatch?
Action resumes, for one final time in this Test, after a 20-minute break.
Crawley's resistance ends. He has 2 runs to show from his 25-ball stay. Crawley is caught fishing outside his off stump and there is a simple catch at gully. Southee keeps the ball keeps swerving around on the final day. Joe Root walks out. The skipper will have to stay on till the end today.
ENG 56/2, need 217 more to win
Crawley comes in at 3 and plays along with England's game plan of blocking everything out before Tea. Sibley gets a four with a top edge that flies past Southee at second slip. England cross 54. Still a long way to go to get the win though.
ENG 54/1, need 219 more to win
Wagner, striking all the right chords, gets the breakthrough! After so many near misses, it is Southee at second slip and Wagner who combine to get rid of Burns. The first wicket falls. Burns goes for 25 off 81.
ENG 49/1
New Zealand throw in Santner and Wagner, thus indicating their attacking salvo is at an end. Despite having done little other than hand around, Burns and Sibley have ensured no wickets have fallen in the first one and half hours, thus effectively blanking out New Zealand from the game. What this has done, if England can hold on for another half hour, is that this has given England a fighting chance to go for the win in the final session.
ENG 49/0, need 224 more to win
Jamieson has bowled 5 maidens in his first 5 overs. Undroppable at the moment. Burns steals another boundary with a flick off the pads against Southee. Sibley still the batsman under more pressure even as the wicket eludes New Zealand. Drinks taken at the end of the halfway point in the session, with England yet to find any sort of rythm to their chase.
ENG 33/0 after 17, need 240 more to win
Sibley finally gets off the mark with a flick off his pads that goes to the fence. It's England on the back foot now, sustaining the punches of the new ball. Can they soak up the pressure now and then inflict it all on the Kiwis when the ball becomes older?
ENG 14/0 after 10
Burns continues confidently, driving a four back behind Southee. Sibley, on the other hand, looking like a spider caught on a bathroom wall. All eight legs at the moment and under severe examination from Southee and Jamieson, who strikes the right-hander on his elbow. Meanwhile, Williamson's brave declaration call has impressed all.
Burns gets England's first runs with an edge that flies past the slip cordon for four. Southee and Jamieson have started proceedings for New Zealand, under skies that look like they could open any time. All five results possible, to be honest - an England win, a New Zealand win, a draw under normal circumstances, a draw forced by weather and a tie, however traumatic that may be for the Kiwis. No runs apart from that edged boundary in the first 3 overs though.
ENG 4/0, need 269 more to win
New Zealand have declared at lunch! England need 273 runs to win, New Zealand need 10 wickets. Burns and Sibley begin batting for England. Here we go!
Wicket! This time for Joe Root. Nicholls tries an expansive shot but can only manage to give a catch to Burns at slip. De Grandhomme comes in at 8 and smashes a four off Anderson. And with the drizzle continuing, an early Lunch session has been called.
NZ 169/6, lead by 272
Nicholls and Watling build a 6th wicket partnership with a few more edges flying off to the fence. England looking to contain the runs at this stage, looking at their field placement. Aaaand just to spice things up a bit more... a slight drizzle has started at Lord's.
NZ 159/5, lead by 262
One more six - this time a heavy top edge from Ross Taylor. James Anderson, into the attack for the first time today, raps Taylor on the pad but the LBW decision is not given. Replays show Taylor would have been out, but England have burned all their Reviews up already! Life for Taylor. But he's gone in the next over. A wild slash and an edge that travels to the keeper. Taylor is out for 33 off 35 balls.
NZ 133/5, lead by 236
That was Stuart Broad's first Test wicket in 81.2 overs. Henry Nicholls has joined Taylor meanwhile, while Mark Wood has been introduced by England. Nicholls now dances down the track and throws his bat at it. New Zealand's intentions are clear - they are going for the win.
NZ 118/4, lead by 221