Black Caps on brink of defeat in first test versus England at Lord’s

Sunday, 7 June 2026

First test, Lord's: England 140 and 226 vs New Zealand 113 and 55-5 (Gus Atkinson 2-16, Ollie Robinson 2-18). Click here for full scorecard.

Rain enabled the first test between New Zealand and England to extend to a fourth day, but it won’t save the tourists from what appears to be an inevitable and humbling defeat.

Only 9.4 overs of play were possible overnight (NZ time) at Lord’s, but that was enough to see the Black Caps lose two further specialist batters to fall to 55-5 in the second innings.

That left them still 199 runs shy of their target for victory to begin the three-test series, and with just some cloud forecast for day four in London, the hosts will be expected to wrap up a win without raising too much of a sweat.

Seamer Ollie Robinson, who began NZ’s batting woes on day one with a triple-wicket maiden in his first over in test cricket since February 2024, grabbed the wickets of Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell as the bowlers once more dominated on a generous pitch.

Black Caps opener Devon Conway remained unbeaten on 19 off 55 deliveries, surviving a searching examination from Robinson, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue, with the latter producing a sharply-rising delivery which struck a painful blow to Conway’s gloved hand.

Ravindra, who made a first-innings duck and dropped crucial catches in both of England’s turn at bat, tried to deal with the stop-start nature of play as rain came and went but was eventually was bowled by Robinson for eight.

Mitchell made a third-ball duck, when umpire Rod Tucker adjudged him lbw and that decision was upheld after the batter’s review, with ball-tracking predicting it would have clipped leg stump, much to Mitchell’s annoyance.

Match situation and what to expect on day four

Being five wickets down is a touch misleading for the Black Caps - one of those to fall was nightwatcher Will O’Rourke.

But they can’t expect much from Matt Henry, whose back problem has limited his movement and will be at No.11.

A bold approach may be taken by the visitors if the overhead conditions again aid the bowlers, who have been given a ton of encouragement by a substandard Lord’s pitch.

The Black Caps could look to Conway to maintain his cautious vigil and attack from the other end via the other not out batter, Tom Blundell, and allrounders Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith and Kyle Jamieson.

Stat of the day

The record for the most wickets to fall bowled or lbw in a test in England is poised to fall.

The dismissals of Ravindra and Mitchell on the pesky third day meant 22 wickets have fallen in either manner - the record for a test in England is 23.

Robinson will be licking his lips at the opportunity to set a new mark - he currently has test career-best figures of 7 for 57 and is seeking maiden 10-wicket haul.

On day three, he brought down his strike rate to 47.2, below Fred Trueman’s and into top spot among England bowlers with 80 test wickets.

What they said

“Obviously it's certainly not an easy day with the bat, overhead conditions certainly favoured the bowlers,” Conway said.

“A little bit frustrating coming on and off and not getting that rhythm that you would get normally. It's a matter of spending time in the middle.

“It was a little bit disappointing we lost a couple of wickets, but hopefully tomorrow we can build some key partnerships and try and progress the game.

“I think for me it's just knowing when to switch on each ball, making sure that you're locked in with your game plan. At times today, you could clearly see that the rain was approaching but it was a matter of just making sure you're taking care of the next ball, and staying fully focused and being present during that period.”