England opener Rory Burns and all-rounder Dan Lawrence scored battling half-centuries because the hosts recovered from a mid-innings wobble to succeed in 258/7 against New Zealand on the opening day of the second and ultimate Test on Thursday (June 10). Burns fought exhausting as wickets fell round him and regarded set to succeed in his fourth check century in entrance of a boisterous Edgbaston crowd of round 17,000 followers earlier than falling for 81, caught by stand-in skipper Tom Latham off Trent Boult.
Boult (2/60) eliminated James Bracey with the primary ball of his subsequent over to go away England in bother at 175/6 after that they had gained the toss and made a strong begin with the bat. Lawrence (67 not out) steadied the ship, nonetheless, together with his third check half-century and Mark Wood (16 not out) gave him strong assist earlier than the shut.
“It’s been quite a tough day, but it was pretty even by the end,” Burns informed Sky Sports. “Dan played really well and got us back in it nicely. There’s something in the surface for everyone. They came back hard at us after lunch. It swung a bit more, whether that was conditions overhead or the surface, we`ll have to see when we bowl.”
Earlier, Burns and fellow opener Dom Sibley ensured that the hosts negotiated the opening session of a house check with out the lack of a wicket for the primary time since 2011. New Zealand made six modifications to the group that drew the primary Test at Lord’s with Latham captaining the facet for the third time within the absence of normal skipper Kane Williamson as a consequence of a niggling elbow damage.
But the guests clicked into gear after lunch as Matt Henry (2/66) compelled Sibley (35) to knick the ball to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell, earlier than Zak Crawley fell for a duck, caught at slip off the bowling of Neil Wagner. England captain Joe Root acquired off the mark with a boundary off Henry, however edged the following supply to Blundell earlier than Ollie Pope departed for 19.
Olly Stone (20) shared a significant 47-run partnership with Lawrence earlier than being trapped lbw by Ajaz Patel. “We’ve got three wickets left to add as many runs as possible and hopefully Dan can keep going. Then we`ll see with the ball. It`s set fair for a good day tomorrow,” Burns mentioned.
