England handed New Zealand a drubbing in the first Test of the three-match series at the iconic Lord's as Gus Atkinson and Ollie Robinson starred with the ball in a 115-run victory.
Making a return after a long time, Robinson took Test cricket like fish to water as he scalped five wickets in the first innings before taking another two in the second on what was a bowler-friendly surface at the Home of Cricket. He traded the fifer with Atkinson, who took 5/30 in the second innings as the visitors were bowled out for 138 in their pursuit of 253.
England bowlers star
All the four English bowlers tasted success with the ball, with Josh Tongue and captain Ben Stokes also taking two and one wicket each. The Kiwis had their back against the wall as the target was way bigger than they could have managed. Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips put up a fight for the Black Caps. Conway fought for his 41 off 91 balls as he was running out of partners with England seamers making inroads.
His stay ended when he nicked one to gully off Stokes as England broke the 53-run stand between Conway and Phillips, who fought for a bit longer. He made 44 from 52 balls and tried delaying the inevitable before Matt Henry was cleaned up by Atkinson for his fifer.
New Zealand fall on WTC points table
The result saw New Zealand slip down two places on the World Test Championship points table as they suffered their first loss of the 2025-27 cycle. Before this result, they were in second place with two wins from three matches and a draw. They had a PCT of 77.780.
However, the loss has dropped them below WTC holders South Africa and Sri Lanka as they fall to the fourth spot with 58.33%. As for England, they stay put in seventh place despite the win. This was their fourth victory in 11 games this season, having suffered six losses along with a draw. The Three Lions have closed in on India in standings and have 37.88 PCT now. India have a PCT of 48.15.
| Rank | Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draw | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Australia | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 84 | 87.5 |
| 2. | South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 75 |
| 3. | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 66.67 |
| 4. | New Zealand | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 58.33 |
| 5. | Bangladesh | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 58.33 |
| 6. | India | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 52 | 48.15 |
| 7. | England | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 50 | 37.88 |
| 8. | Pakistan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 8.33 |
| 9. | West Indies | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 4.17
|
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