Right from winning the toss and choosing to bat first, it all went in favor of visitors New Zealand on Day 1 of the first Test of the 2-match series against England at Lord’s. It was all due to their debutant opener Devon Conway who batted brilliantly to get his name on the Lord’s honors board. He remained unbeaten on 136* as New Zealand ended Day 1 with a commanding 246/3 on the board. Along with him at the other end was Henry Nicholls who was batting on 46* as the duo added an unbeaten 132*-run stand for the fourth wicket thus far.
England looked in control of the innings at 114/3 but Conway took the game away from the home team with a brilliant ton and his massive unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership.
Devon Conway’s brilliant Test debut:
Conway remained unbeaten on 136* at stumps on Day 1 becoming the 12th player from New Zealand to score a century on Test debut. Furthermore, Australia’s Harry Graham in 1893, Sourav Ganguly in 1996 and Devon Conway in this Test match are the only three overseas players to score a century on career debut at Lord’s. This is a massive achievement for this left-hander from New Zealand. His unbeaten136* is also the highest for any batsman on career debut at Lord’s. It would be a massive achievement for him to get to a double century on Day 2 in this Test match!
England’s struggles with the ball:
Even though England were playing both James Anderson and Stuart Board, it hasn’t been their day on the field on Day 1 at Lord’s. They both were tackled with ease by the kiwi batsmen! England’s debutant Ollie Robinson with 2 wickets and James Anderson with a wicket are the only wicket-takers in England’s bowling line-up. With Ben Stokes not available for this series, Stuart Board was made vice-captain. He went wicketless so far in New Zealand’s first innings and that wouldn’t be a good sign for the hosts.
England have opted for four pacers without a spinner in their line-up and that had affected their over-rate on Day 1. The home team were 11 overs short at the scheduled close of play (after 6 hours of play). However, they had bowled 7 overs in the extra half hour allocated to finish Day 1 with 86 overs. Still, they were 4 overs short at stumps on the first day of this first Test match.
Brief Scores: New Zealand – 246/3 (Devon Conway – 136*, Henry Nicholls – 46*, Ollie Robinson – 2/50, James Anderson – 1/55) at stumps on Day 1
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