Lord's

(day two of five: England won the toss)

New Zealand 277, England 68-0 (21.3 overs) AJ Strauss 24 not out, AN Cook 43 not out

Lunch

England were frustrated by some determined if unspectacular New Zealand batting as the touring side pressed towards the target of 300 laid down by Brendon McCullum last night, scoring only 52 runs before lunch. Liberal use of the short-pitched ball brought little by way of dividend before Ryan Sidebottom took the new ball close to the break.

Jacob Oram, considered vulnerable against the bouncer, found little in his favoured slot and eventually gave Sidebottom his first wicket when he edged a well directed out-swinger to slip. Kyle Mills, however, resisted for 59 balls before Sidebottom – returning figures of 2 for 3 from 7.5 overs in the session – penetrated his defence.

Tea

Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, resuming their opening partnership for the first time since the end of last season, saw off the new ball in light that was only just good enough for play before conditions forced an early tea. Chris Martin and Kyle Mills both passed the bat but found neither batsman mindful to attack.

Ryan Sidebottom had wrapped up the New Zealand innings to finish with second day figures of 10.1-7-5-4, removing the tail with the second new ball.

Daniel Vettori’s resistance, spanning 162 minutes, ended as he tried to step up a gear with Chris Martin as his final partner. He may have lost sight of the ball as Sidebottom clean bowled a third successive victim.

Close

Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook batted with increasing authority between stoppages for bad light but, with a poor forecast for Saturday, their opening stand may continue to be punctuated with breaks. Cook was responsible for the bulk of the scoring but Strauss, despite hitting only two boundaries, was at least as solid as his partner.

New Zealand did not manage to reproduce the swing generated by Ryan Sidebottom with the second new ball either side of lunch and bowlers switched to going around the wicket to the left-handers in an attempt to break through. Tim Southee was particularly expensive, conceding three fours in succession to Cook.

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