Story The ICC World Test Cricket Medal: ***Day Four Highlights***

[just_cricket]

Welcome back to all our viewers- let's go down to the pitch with Nasser Hussain who will take us through the toss...

Thanks, David and yes, I have the two captains out here with ICC Match referee Ranjan Madugalle ready for the toss.
Home captain Andrew Strauss has the coin, a special edition 2010 Great British Pound - the first minted in 2010- just for this occasion:

Heads!

Ok, Dan, what will you be doing?

We'll have a bowl thanks, mate. We've decided we've got to play attacking cricket to have a real go at this, and the best way to do that is to bowl first and put them under some pressure.

Right, so the interesting ones in your side. First of all, Shane Bond!

Yeah it's been great to have Shane back as a part of things and it's given us a real boost. I think the Englishmen will have "slept less easily" due to his return. And the other new face is Kane Williamson. He's a sensational talent and there is no better time for him to turn it on than in the opening game of a great events at Lords...

Thanks, Dan, and now Andrew Strauss?

I'm not too disappointed at Dan winning and the Kiwis bowling to be honest. I would've had a bat if I'd won anyway so, yeah, I'm not too disappointed.

Yes, Vettori obviously making a reference to something you said a few years back about your side 'sleeping easier' with Bond not in the side. Now that he is, does the reverse apply?

Not particularly, speaking for myself. Bond's a great player but he's been out of real international cricket for some time, and I think we as a team are a lot more mature and stable. So we're going to come out in the first session and try to really score some runs.

Thanks Andrew, so the news is that New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has won the toss and sent England in to bat first. We'll be back for the first ball of this inaugural tournament, in just a few moments...

 

[Jaztheman]

Will be interesting to see how England bat against a decent New Zealand bowling attack.

Good work, mate.

 

[surendar]

Kiwis should have batted first because they have a good depth batting lineup. Vettori should have tried to put something around 600 and put the opponent in pressure.

Anyways, looking forward to it

 

[just_cricket]

England v NZ at Lords: Day 1

Rightio, welcome back to Lords for this match, all to play for for both sides here. I'm in the commentary box with Michael Atherton, so Athers would are you expecting in this 1st session's play?

Well, Sir Ian, I would expect to see Cook and Strauss look to apply themselves and show real focus, while looking to balane determined, concentrated defense with flowing strokeplay and the ability to score runs at a good rate to put pressure on the New Zealand bowlers. For the Black Caps, it's up to the bowlers to do their best- I'd keep an eye on Shane Bond who will be hungry for wickets in his return to test cricket, and young Tim Southee who has so much promise and so much to prove, right here, right now.

OK, so the umpires for this match- Simon Taufel and Steve Bucknor, who is making a special return to Test cricket for this event- are out in the middle, deep in thought, with the shiny new red cherry...

And the players have followed them-the New Zealanders led by captain Daniel Vettori, and captain Andrew Strauss, along with Alastair Cook, are out in the centre. It looks like it's going to be Shane Bond to take the new ball, and he's running into bowl, with the wind behind him, as the crowd of 40,000 plus lick their lips with anticipation. Here we go...

The first ball of the match is an away swinger to the left handed Cook, which he plays confidently off the front foot back to mid off.
The first over of the tournament is a good one from Bond- he makes Cook play four times out of six, and the other two are tight into the stumps with more than a hint of swing. A maiden to begin.

Southee opens the bowling at the other end, and after he is worked off the pads for 1 by Andrew Strauss, Cook smatters a cover drive between cover and mid off for four, a really confident flowing shot. Southee straightens up and even beats the outside edge of Cook's bat once in the over.
At the other end, Bond is bowling quite quickly, up above the 90mph mark which is quite sharp, especially as he has been out of the international game for quite some time. Strauss gets a thick edge through gully for a single down to third man, and then:

Bond, to Cook, and... He's knocked him over! Shane Bond, with a beautiful late outswinger to Cook, Cook looked to cover any possible threat with a nice step forward, and his bat coming through straight, but as it turned at out he played down the wrong line- completely inside it- and Bond has struck, bowling Alastair Cook for 4 in the third over.

It's 6/1 here at Lords, and the new batsman is Ian Bell...

Bell settles into his innings nicely, beginning with a delightful chip/on drive through straight mid wicket for four all along the ground.

That is a fine example of why we Englishmen get so annoyed about Ian Bell. He can score no runs, look out of his depth and without any guts at all for a series, and then begin in a new tournament like that.

And he continues to look good, as he and Strauss, who is also beginning to look confident, steady the ship somewhat. As Bell plays some exquisite drives and leg glances, Strauss pulls and cuts the short balls and looks to keep out the full, straight ones. The ball is swinging around but the batsmen look up to the challenge. Strauss brings up the fifty with a cut behind backward point for 4 off Southee, which turns out to be Southee's last ball in his first spell. The score is 51/1 off 14 overs and Southee finishes with figures of 7-1-33-0. He has been targeted by some fluent batting and actually swung the ball nicely but he was nowhere near his best.
Unfortunately for England, just as Strauss is looking like he will settle in for a long innings, he flashes at one outside off stump...

Gone! Strauss is caught at second slip by Ross Taylor- a good catch, because it really flew and Taylor took it comfortably in front of his eyes.

A big wicket for the Black Caps- they have pegged England back just as they were starting to get away, and maybe even may have the upper hand with that wicket- it's 59/2.

Kevin Pietersen is the new batsman and begins with a hiss and a roar, smashing Shane Bond down the ground from a short of a length ball, using a horizontal bat. It is a shot only Pietersen could play.
Bell's cultured defense and elegant strokeply complements Pietersen's unorthodox, game-breaking style perfectly, as the pair progress quickly off new bowlers James Franklin and Jacob Oram. They are going at above four an over, playing very comfortably, but Vettori has faith in his medium pacers, and leaves them going. The hundred is brought up in the 24th over for England, courtesy of a Kevin Pietersen 'flamingo' off Oram.
Oram and Franklin bowl 9 over spells, with Oram going at about 4 and Franklin about 5 an over.
Vettori introduces himself to the bowling crease, but is helpless to prevent Bell and Pietersen as they look to push on, first Bell reaching his fifty with a nicely timed back foot punch:

And soon later Pietersen also reaches his half century, off the last ball before lunch:

The score is 145/2 at Lunch, with England firmly on top thanks to some aggressive batting from Pietersen and Bell.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Black Caps' efforts to ebb the flow of runs are unsuccessful for the first part of the afternoon session, as Vettori and Southee continue to leak runs. Vettori is bowling OK, but is just being played very well by the two Englishmen, but unfortunately Southee just isn't looking like it in this spell. The score passes the 150 mark soon after lunch, and Pietersen's aggressive batting continues, as he thunders past Bell on the runs tally, and when he reaches 90 Bell is on 76. However...

And so it's Vettori to Pietersen, Pietersen pushes down the ground to mid on and Bell's taken off for a short single. There's a mix up here! Bell is sent back, Jamie How's picked up the ball and shied at the stumps... And oooh he's hit them! Ian Bell is run out by a long way!

Well How had about two and a half stumps to aim at, and he's hit them directly, running out Ian Bell for 76. How has already missed a run out chance today, but not on this occasion...

With the dismissal of Bell, the new batsman is Paul Collingwood. His attitude is contrasting to that of Bell and Pietersen's, as he looks to just sit on Vettori.
Pietersen, nevertheless, doesn't change his mentality in the slightest, first smashing Oram for four over square leg and then hitting a six over long on to bring up his century:

Well, well that's a fine innings so far from the innovative Kevin Pietersen. He is a true entertainer and you get the feeling this only part of what he has to offer for us today. No doubt he will be looking to push on for himself and the team and get a really big score.

Now a really interesting passage of play begins. Collingwood is actually almost struggling against the mastery and composure of Vettori's bowling, so the Kiwis look to keep him on strike to their captain, who is prepared to bowl maiden after maiden to him. Meanwhile, Pietersen continues his onslaught against Oram, and anyone else who comes on at the other end.
The score marches past 200, then 250 in the blink of an eye, as although Collingwood has only scored two runs, Pietersen progresses to 150. He is making it look so easy out there, and Collingwood must be somewhat envious of the ease his batting partner is playing with.
The next man to go is...

Vettori bowls to Collingwood, Collingwood thrusts forward and is rapt on the pad! The Kiwis go up as one, and Simon Taufel raises his finger! Paul Collingwood is out lbw!
Well Vettori has been battling long and hard against Collingwood, and vice versa, and now he finally gets his man. A strange innings from Collingwood comes to and end, as he is dismissed for just 3, and he leaves the ground with a particularly dejected expression on his face.

The new batsman will be Andrew Flintoff, but he will wait till after the tea break to emerge from the changing rooms. Despite the fall of the last wicket, England are still on top, at 297/4 off just 61 overs.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After Tea, Flintoff looks aggressive from the outset, but cannot match Pietersen's devilry- Pietersen hits a four to take the score past 300, and flies on to 187, before:

Pietersen Is bowled by Vettori!

Well it was a silly shot and he knows it- so close to that elusive double century- and Pietersen, going for the switch hit, has been partially undone by a nicely flighted ball from Vettori, but was really undone by his own foolishness. Although, I must say he has played that way all day and we've only been commending him, so who am I to dismiss his shot as irresponsible- the reality is that he's taken England to a commanding position, and it was a truly fantastic, entertaining innings.

With the fall of Pietersen's wicket, with just over an hour to go, Flintoff and the new batsman, Matt Prior look to consolidate and see out the day as a successful one for their team. The run rate is slowed, mainly because New Zealand's two best bowlers- Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori- are operating. Flintoff is looking settled at the crease, moving his feet well and keeping his head still, and Prior is also settling into his innings nicely- after opening his account with a back foot drive for 4.
However, just as the score passes the 350 mark and there is just over half an hour in the evening session left, the light begins to fade. But play continues until:

So it's Vettori to bowl to Flintoff, last ball of the over. Flintoff sweeps, over square leg, but there's a man out there! Jacob Oram's underneath it, this could be out, should be out... Is out!!! Flintoff is caught in the deep by Jacob Oram!

Good captaincy from Vettori, he knew Flintoff wouldn't be able to resist the temptation and as a result he's been dismissed for 27, just as he was looking set. A rush of blood from Flintoff- it may not have cost them the day but the New Zealanders will sleep a little bit easier tonight- they could now bowl England out for under 400, which would be a good achievement for them.
And that will be stumps, the umpires are removing the bails, with England 362/6. Matthew Prior is not out on 6, and Sidebottom will be the new batsman tomorrow morning. Both sides are right in this one, it's shaping up to be a cracker...

Thank you, Nasser, now part of my job as the third man for the last session's play has been to pick the Player of the Day, who will receive 10,000 courtesy of Npower. Now it hasn't been the most difficult job for me on this occassion, as I'm sure everyone in the ground here would agree with me on this.
For a thunderous 187, today's Npower Player of the Day is Kevin Pietersen

Congratulations, Kevin. How did you feel you went today?

Thanks, Michael. I think I played my game today, I didnt worry about what other people thought, and it's fair to say it came off. I was annoyed to throw it away at the end but still a fantastic day for me, and a good one for the team.

So what is the plan from here?

I think we've got to looking at batting half of next day at the most- it's important that we make the most of this commanding position and don't waste time with the bat so we can push for an outright win. I'm confident we can do it.

Thank you Kevin, Congratulations.
Actually Kevin touched on the 'outright win', and the points awarded from today are 3.62 for England, with 362 runs at 0.01 points a run, and 1.8 for New Zealand, with 6 wickets at 0.3 pts a wicket.
Although it isn't entirely accurate, one could conclude from that the England have had the better of today- which would be true, but both sides will be reasonably happy we've what they've done today.
So we all wait with anticipation for tomorrow- catch all the live action here at Sky Sports. Good Night from us!

 

[surendar]

England are in good shape despite the fall of wickets. I think, Kiwis should start thinking of developing a good lead from now itself.

And keep up the stunning works mate.

 

[Jaztheman]

Kevin Pietersen steadied the ship emphatically and England are on top. England should be ahead like the points suggest but strange way, I must admit.

Great work, mate.

 

[just_cricket]

Day Two: England's Innings

Welcome back to Lords, the Home of Cricket for the second day of this test match between England and New Zealand in the ICC Test Cricket World Medal.
England will resume at 362/6, with Prior and Sidebottom at the crease, but just before they do, let's talk to Sir Ian Botham about his thoughts on yesterday's play, and how the match is shaping up. Hello, Sir Ian.

Good Morning, Bumble. Yesterday was indeed a good, exciting encounter- as we said yesterday a good advertisement for test cricket and really a great start for the ICC World Medal- they couldn't really have hoped for a better start. The runs were scored quickly, the bowling was by and large attacking, and the electric atmosphere that was with us from the first ball never ceased, as 40,000 followed the game intently.
We are expecting about 40,000 again today, and hopefully they will provide us with an excellent atmosphere again. The Barmy Army is here again today, of course, and they were at their best yesterday, singing in the warm sun. In terms of the cricket, Pietersen and Bell led England to a good position, but it could have been-should have been- a commanding position. It wouldn't be true to say the Black Caps were at their best, but they didn't look overwhelmed with the occassion, and I'm expecting some kiwi guts today, as they look to show a bit of 'ticker' and get on with the job.
Pietersen's innings was one that will stay with me for a long time- I'd like to say he reminded me of himself but I cannot claim to have ever batted in that manner.

It was a sensational innings and I'd like to congratulate him for it. But now, the umpires and players are making their way out to the middle, and all looks to be ready for another enthralling day's play.

Thank you, Sir Ian and it looks like it'll be Matt Prior on strike for the first ball, as he and Flintoff didn't cross during the catch last night. He is unbeaten on 6, and once again it's Shane Bond running in to deliver the first ball of the day...

Prior looks to have taken a leaf out of Pietersen's book- he pulls Bond for four off the second ball, and then nicks one over slips for another boundary. The score is 370, and Southee takes the ball at the other end.

So Southee bowls to Sidebottom- Bowledem! Stumps everywhere, Southee came around the wicket and just went straight through Sidebottom- a good start for Southee after a fruitless day yesterday, and his teammates rush up to congratulate him.

A good start for Southee, not such a good one for Sidebottom or England. Matthew Hoggard is the new batsman, it's 370/7.

Hoggard wastes no time in doing what he does best- blocking the snot out of it. Prior, in stark contrast continues from where he left off last over, and quickly, albeit unconvincingly sets about upping the score and the run rate. There are moments of brilliance, of smashing cuts pulls and cover drives.
And moments of sheer luck, of nicks over and through slips, and aerial shots just landing safely in exactly the middle of three fielders.
Nevertheless, the score is mounting and soon passes the 400 mark, with Hoggard surprisingly getting in on the act, marching up to 10. Prior, meanwhile races to his first half century against New Zealand:

But soon after reaching fifty, Prior...

Is out! lbw to Vettori! Prior went for the sweep, but Vettori actually found some spin, it hit him on the back leg, and it wasn't the most difficult decision Steve Bucknor's ever had to make.

So, with Prior's downfall after an entertaining 57, England really should be looking to score as many runs as they can as quickly as possible through Harmison, Hoggard and Panesar, and then have a go at the New Zealanders for the rest of the day. It's 403/8 here.

Harmison does exactly what Hussain was talking about- he hits Vettori for a four, and then a six, via two thrilling slog sweeps.
He then cuts one for four, but...

Harmison is struck on the pad by Vettori, Vettori roars a huge appeal...

And he's been given! So England are 417/9, Harmison the man to go for 14 off 4 balls, Panesar the final batsman for England in this innings.

Hoggard and Panesar score a further 11 tailender's runs- scratchy pushing into gaps for quick singles, a couple of edges wide of the slips, before:

Bond, the last ball of his 19th over, bowls to Panesar and he nicks it- Great catch by McCullum! Panesar got a thick edge, there was no first slip and McCullum absolutely flew to his left, and took a brilliant, one handed catch.

Monty goes for 4, Hoggard is the not out batsman on 17, and that's the end of the innings, England all out for 428 off 118 overs.

Well you can see from that scorecard that many batsmen had starts- but Pietersen was the only one who was able to convert that into three figures. Ian Bell's the most annoying innings in a way- it was shaping up to be a gem of an innings, before a miscommunication between him and Kevin Pietersen led to him being run out for a well compiled 76.
But 428- England should be happy with that, they've got the runs on the board, they've now got to walk the walk with the ball and do their upmost to bowl NZ out.
For New Zealand, Bond took 3-61, a good return to test cricket, Southee and Franklin were expensive, with 1/101 and 0/72 respectively, Oram bowled 22 over for just 64, but again, with his name up on the Lords Honours' Board, Daniel Vettori was the pick of the bowlers with figure of 33-2-124-5. A good performance by him, but now the onus is on the batsmen, to try and match or better England's score, to give their team a chance in this match. We'll be back soon to see the first ball of New Zealand's innings...

just_cricket added 59 Minutes and 57 Seconds later...

Kevin Pietersen steadied the ship emphatically and England are on top. England should be ahead like the points suggest but strange way, I must admit.

Great work, mate.

You're right, but there needs to be a way of finding a winner if there are draws, because otherwise a Test World Cup just couldn't work.
The points are only for interest, unless both tests are drawn, as stated in the Rules and Regulations pdf (page1. But it's not a particularly interesting pdf so don't bother reading it unless you feel the need.)

Thanks for the comments, I'm trying to update as regularly as I can.

 

[Jaztheman]

That's okay mate, any way to determine the winner of the draw is needed.

That was some good batting by England to bypass 400 with quite a few batsmen entertaining the supporters. Even the tail got in on the act! 14 off four balls. Vettori and Bond were destructive with the ball however, being a double team that you don't want to face!

Fantastic scoreboard, and great presentation, mate.

 

[Left_Hander]

A very good first innings score by England. Pietersen's knock was brilliant and almost scored half of England's total.

As Jaz said, that is a great looking scoreboard

 

[surendar]

England have placed themselves in a commanding position here. Kiwis have lots of work to do now. Lets see how their batting goes now.

As I said before, keep up the stunning works

 

[OrderDX]

this is looking awesome and it will be interesting to see the outcomes of the match the england squad is a bit surprising though i am a fan of Bell so not bothered by that. No Broad or Anderson or Swann though! Good luck the gfx are amazing Great first innings and KP and Bell are a great partnership!

 

[just_cricket]

Hello again, welcome back to Lords, for New Zealand's first innings, here on Day Two, in reply to England's first innings total of 428 all out. The players and umpire have already made their way out to the middle, so it shouldn't be too long until we're underway again. In fact the players are in positions and we're about to get underway.

It's Ryan Sidebottom to open proceedings, with Jamie How facing for New Zealand. Here we go...

Sidebottom gets quite a lot of swing into the right handed How, but How is focused, and looks good, working the ball into the leg side for a couple.
Guptill also looks up to the task, as he opens his account at Lords with a cut for four off Matthew Hoggard at the other end. The ball is swinging for both bowlers, but the batsmen are leaving as much as they can, and looking to set themselves for a big innings.
However, with the score on 26, Sidebottom comes in to bowl his fourth over...

Sidebottom, to How, the ball swings back and How is hit on the pad! Right in front of middle and leg! The Englishmen go up and how is out ghbHow is out lbw!

Sidebottom celebrates, How goes, lbw to Sidebottom for 10, and Daniel Flynn is the new batsman. How was looking good, and he got his side off to an alright start, but he's gone now. It's 26/1 here.

Flynn gets off the mark with a leg glance for 1, but almost immediately:

Hoggard to Flynn, Gottem! Prior snaffles up the catch and Daniel Flynn is caught behind off Matthew Hoggard!

Well, well, what a ball from Hoggard- he's been swinging it in to the left hander with his exaggerated arm action, and suddenly he gets one to hold its line- Flynn gets a feather edge and the catch is taken comfortably by Matt Prior. 27/2, England on top here at Lords.

Ross Taylor strides out to the middle in an attempt to give this New Zealand innings a bit of stability. He begins well, middling everything he chooses to hit and being decisive with his foot movements. Guptill is also playing well, hitting the ball at the top of the bounce and timing it nicely.
Sidebottom and Hoggard are soon replaced by Harmison and Flintoff, taller bowlers who hit the pitch hard and extract more movement off the pitch, but can still swing it in the air, particularly Flintoff. The ball flies past the noses of the batsmen several times, but they more than hang in there, they continue to score runs. It is a hard fought battle, neither batsmen nor bowlers prepared to give an inch, the bowlers bowling as quickly and accurately as possible, the batsmen staying rock solid in defense and making the most of their scoring opportunities.
Guptill reaches his maiden half century for New Zealand, and is really playing nicely:

Taylor also begins to score more freely against the height of both bowlers, and on the stroke of lunch , he reaches his half century also, with a back foot shot behind point for two.

Guptill and Taylor have done a good job of rebuilding after the two sudden wickets, and at lunch, the score is 122/2- they still trail by 326 runs, but with Taylor and Guptill going well, that total doesn't seem as far off as it was an hour ago. The only worry for England is that Panesar has been ineffective in his four overs before lunch, but one could hardly tell from four overs how a bowler is bowling- they'll just have to hope he settles down in the afternoon session.

Guptill strides out after lunch and plays a beautiful straight drive off Hoggard, which rolls out quickly towards the fence and makes a resounding *CRACK* as hits the advertising boards.
Taylor however, cannot continue where he left off, and attempts a big drive off Hoggard...

Hoggard to Taylor- Taylor's out bowled! He went for the big drive, Hoggard just got a hint of outswing, and Taylor's been castled!

A massive wicket for Hoggard and England, Taylor can play big innings, as we saw last time he came here, and to get him now really puts England on top, as the Black Caps trail by exactly 300, NZ's most dangerous batsman is out, and they have a debutant coming to the crease. 128/3, England, not quite in the box seat, but they do have the advantage.

The new batsman is Kane Williamson, teenage batting prodigy back in New Zealand, but can he cut it at test level? He does have the advantage of the fact that England will know next to nothing about him, but other than that the odds are stacked against him- inexperience, the aura of Lords, and a pumped England team who will be channeling all of their energy on him.

The next ball may well be a defining moment in Williamson's career- Hoggard pitches up, and Williamson straight drives it straight down the ground for four.

Well there aren't too many better ways of opening your account in test cricket. A beautiful, textbook straight drive, some would say the most attractive stroke in cricket, right off the middle, just misses the stumps on the way back past the bowler, straight as a die. This boy can play...

Williamson settles into his innings nicely- but he does show signs of a nervous young boy on test debut on occasions- he flashes at a few outside off stump, and hits a cover drive at catching height just wide of Pietersen at extra cover.
It seemed all the attention was on this young debutant, but Guptill sends reminders that he is there, too, pulling out the odd delightful stroke- some powerful pulls and beautifully timed back foot drives.
The pitch suddenly looks flatter to the England bowlers, and to the New Zealanders, the ball seems to be swinging much less, Harmison is not quite as fast, and the ineffectiveness of Panesar continues, although he is not bowling badly.
Guptill is sticking to his gameplan against Panesar well, cutting and pulling anything short, and working anything full for singles.
Williamson, however, seems to have the gameplan: "Play every shot in the book". He cuts, pulls, drives, uses his feet, sweeps, works singles, and even goes over the top.
Guptill works one into the covers for two off Panesar, and he brings up not only his team's 200, but his maiden test century:

Well that is a top innings from the young man. He is excited- and why not. A chanceless innings at the home of cricket, that's as good as it gets.

It wasn't as quick as Pietersen's yesterday, but no one here would disagree if I said it was a much safer innings, in fact, it was almost the perfect test innings. From ball one, everything was decisive- either off the middle of the bat or left alone. He's continued well from there, and I take my hat off to him, what a good innings so far. He needs to go on, though, as his team still trails by 228 runs, but England will be worried, make no mistake. There is still a big chance of the Black Caps taking the first innings lead...

Strauss replaces Panesar with Harmison, so England are operating with pace at both ends again.
Hoggard has become less penetrable with the older ball, so Flintoff replaces Sidebottom at the other end.
Williamson continues to look every bit a test cricketer, watchful at times, dominating at others. Guptill quietens down after reaching his 100, and is the Williamson show once again- he reaches his maiden test fifty in his debut innings with a beautifully timed clip through the leg side for three...

He is on 51 off just 68 balls, but when Guptill is on 112 off 160 balls...

Harmison to Guptill, last ball before the tea break. It's a short ball and he's bowldem! Harmison finally managed to get some life out of he surface, a short ball, rising steeply, Guptill went back to try and keep it out defensively, the bounce caused him to jump up and the ball smashed from the inside edge of his bat down right on top of the stumps, bails everywhere.

It was a fantastic innings from Guptill, it's given his team hope, but it concludes now, as does the Afternoon session. It's tea now, with NZ on 249/4, trailing by 179 runs.

Jacob Oram is the batsman who joins Williamson at the crease, but as it turns out it is not for long, as the clouds are gathering overhead, and after Williamson hits 17 more runs, and Oram gets off the mark, the heavens open up and the rain pours, and pours and pours.
At about 5:30 it clears up and almost as quickly as it came, the sun shines and bakes the ground. But unfortunately, the groundsmen and umpires determine that the ground will not be dry enough to allow safe play on it today, so stumps are drawn, and the 2nd day of exciting cricket is concluded.

NZ 264/4
K Williamson 68*
J Oram 2*
M Guptill 112

Unfortunate that the last session's play all but didn't exist, but it was still another enjoying day, and the game has advanced so far in under 6 sessions that you get the feeling there will definitely be a result inside five days.
How I see the game playing out is either England bowl NZ out for around 100 run lead, and look to score 300-400 runs at about 4rpo, so as to give themselves more than a day to bowl NZ out, which they should do. Or, NZ get close to or even pass England, then force England into a tough decision- with scores virtually level, and about two days to play, how quickly do they bat? If they bat too slowly or lose wickets trying to bat too quickly, NZ has a good show.
But let's go down again to our 3rd Man for this match, Michael Holding...

Thank you Beefy, and just before we get on to the Player of the Day, there are a couple of other issues to address.
Although there have been none thus far, the ICC did announce prior to the tournament that the Referral system will be implemented, with each team allowed 2 unsuccessful referrals in each innings.
And also, on the game, Kane Williamson has become the youngest player to score a test match half century on debut at Lords, congratulations to him.

But despite his efforts, Williamson will not be the Npower Player of the Day.
Today's Npower Player of the Day, for 112 runs, Martin Guptill.

Well, Congratulations Martin, well played. Was it your dream to score a century at Lords?

Yeah, I think everyone who plays test cricket has their sights on a hundred or five wickets here, it means so much to you individually. I'm glad I've ticked that box now.

Well done, here's your cheque for ?10,000 from Npower.

Thank you very much, Michael.

So, this is shaping up to be a thrilling contest- tomorrow, I feel will be the deciding day. Tune in here tomorrow for what will almost definitely be a scintillating day...

 

[Jaztheman]

Match is in the balance but I reckon England have the upper hand. An awesome performance from the yougnster Guptill and Williamson setting a Lords record. New Zealand's future is looking bright, but I think they'll skittle out for less than what England got.

Awesome works, mate.

 

[OrderDX]

New Zealand going nicely there good update with some decent graphics you should have picked anderson he would have got some wickets!

 

[surendar]

I said it before that Kiwis do have a good batting line up.. I reckon the 3rd & 4th innings are going to be crucial. Looking forward to it.

Magnificent presentation