First Test: England v New Zealand, May 21-25.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Presume Wood will bat next.

[budgetmeansbudget]

Unlucky for Buttler there right at the end.


Can't complain - 354 runs.

It will be interesting to see how many the bottom three get.

Can Wood bat?

Oh yes.

Thats good, still got hope of making a few runs tomorrow then. You never know Broad could even start to get his mojo back.

[yorker_129-7]

Presume Wood will bat next.

If Wood comes next it really ought to be Anderson then Broad on current form

[Aidan11]

Presume Wood will bat next.

If Wood comes next it really ought to be Anderson then Broad on current form

Broad is a real worry with the bat. He got that nasty one in the face which seems to have hit his confidence. Never been the same since.

[Gingerfinch]

I bet Ian had a good day. Not a bad one for England either.

[Durhamfootman]

Interesting interview with Stokes and Root on Ch5

when asked what the conversation was when they came together on 30-4, Stokes basically said that they just played the way they always do and backed themselves to score, whereas Root said that NZ were setting very attacking fields which left lots of gaps for them to exploit, and gave them the opportunity to take the initiative a bit, rather than digging in and allowing themselves to be dominated.

I guess that is the difference between a player who is tipped as a future captain, and a player who isn't

[Alviro Patterson]

Quite refreshing to see Ben Stokes go on the counter even if he isn't in the best of form, also looks comfortable against the short ball.

England's batting between 3 and 8 has potential to become top drawer.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Stokes was impressive through the onside. Reminded me of KP a bit. Though Ben is straighter.

Root's front foot play seems to improved a lot. He's in superb form, and seems the bright thinker the middle order needs. And I hope will be captain soon.

Ballance's dismissal was like he was giving an example of the weakness many are predicting will be his downfall. Not just that he was so deep in the crease to a full ball, but he was late in the shot and played across his pads. All to the same ball. Still, outstanding record, so he's doing a lot right.

Nice knock from Moeen, but pretty shaky early on, looks really good doing the stuff that goes well. Which implies that quite a bit looks flaky.

Responsible and unflashy knock from Buttler which suggests he has more depth than supposed by his captain, when he said Jos was some way off being a Test player.

Excellent recovery. Everyone a bit giddy.

[ianp1970]

I bet Ian had a good day. Not a bad one for England either.

I'm going tomorrow

Shame Jos got out at the end...

[Arthur Crabtree]

Should see a pretty useful England lead though I think. Unless the all day swing disappears.

[yuppie]

Its been a Brilliant recovery for England.

From being 4 wickets down in the first hour to finishing the day at 350 with 3 wickets left. Credit where its due here. A Great fight back and English fans should be reveling in that.

[captaincolly]

I caught the last part of The Verdict. Missed what Bob Willis had to say about England's display but he did have a typically entertaining rant about the new sweaters worn by the England players-a total disgrace according to Bob who suggested they must have been knitted by grandmothers who were too drunk on sherry to follow the knitting pattern! Willis also gave his verdict on Michael Vaughan-didn't get the Strauss job because he wanted too much power and too much money.

Geoffrey Boycott - on the TMS podcast - has already started to criticise Mooen's bowling.

[Arthur Crabtree]

No point listening to Boycott, unless for entertainment value. The kit is pretty bad. Bewilderingly so. How many people could have stopped them and elected to do nothing?

[captaincolly]

No point listening to Boycott, unless for entertainment value. The kit is pretty bad. Bewilderingly so. How many people could have stopped them and elected to do nothing?

Yep, perhaps the relevant data suggested a change of kit more often then not leads to a change in fortunes.
Boycott was full of praise for the middle order recovery...though he did say that NZ bowled poorly, made the wrong decision at the toss and 400 was a par score!

[bigfluffylemon]

Bloody hell, Joe. Keep this up and we might not miss KP after all. What a twelve months it's been for him.

And in the context of the match, Stokes played wonderfully. He's obviously still a raw talent, but he can be of immense value.

Well played numbers 5-8!