Skipper Joe Root and Dominic Sibley helped England walk away with a draw against New Zealand on Day Five of the first Test here at the Lord's Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Chasing 273, England got off to a steady start as openers Rory Burns and Sibley saw off the new ball and the duo kept the Kiwi pace attack at bay. The run-scoring was slow, but both batsmen ensured that they keep the good balls out. The 49-run opening stand was finally broken by Neil Wagner in the 24th over as he dismissed Burns (25).
Zak Crawley (2) failed to leave a mark with the bat as he was sent back to the pavilion by Tim Southee, but Sibley and skipper Root ensured that England entered the tea break on Day Five with eight wickets in hand and the score being 56/2.
Root along with Sibley frustrated the Kiwi bowlers and they kept the opposition at bay. Root (40) might have been dismissed by Wagner but in the end, Sibley (60*) along with Ollie Pope (20*) ensured that the hosts walk away with a draw. For New Zealand, Wagner returned with two wickets while Southee took one wicket.
Earlier, resuming Day Five at 61/2 and a lead of 164, New Zealand got off to a bad start as the side lost Neil Wagner (10) pretty early on off the bowling of Ollie Robinson. Ross Taylor next came to the crease and he started playing aggressively, indicating that New Zealand was looking to score quick runs and declare their innings. The fourth-wicket partnership of 31 runs between Taylor and Latham was ended by Stuart Broad as he dismissed Latham (36), reducing New Zealand to 105/4.
Taylor's (33) cameo came to an end in the 45th over as he was sent back to the pavilion by Mark Wood and this ended the 28-run stand for the fifth wicket between Taylor and Henry Nicholls. The left-handed Nicholls departed after playing a 23-run knock, but Colin de Grandhomme (9*) and BJ Watling (15*) took the visitors to lunch with the score at 169/6 and the lead was extended to 272. New Zealand declared their innings and as a result, England was set a target of 273.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 378 and 169/6d (Tom Latham 36, Ross Taylor 33, Ollie Robinson 3-26); England 275 and 170/3 (Dominic Sibley 60*, Joe Root 40, Neil Wagner 2-27).
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
