Black Caps v England First Test Review: Bowlers shine, but the Lord’s pitch remains in the spotlight

In this episode of the show, Binksy, Baldy, Jamie and Stu look back at the First Test between England and the visiting Black Caps at Lord's..

We start the show by throwing it to the victors as England take a 1-0 lead in this Test series. Jamie is cautious with his optimism, while Binksy takes us through the Lord's experience and we discuss how important victory in any form was to kickstart this next phase of the Stokes/McCullum partnership.

As the conversation continues, it inevitably turns to the Lord's pitch, which prompted an apology from the MCC after the surface grabbed most of the headlines. Was this game even watchable from a neutral perspective? And can we really take any lessons from what happened during the course of the game?

In a much more enjoyable and positive segment of the show, we return to the cricket on display to discuss the bowling groups from both sides. There were bags for the returning Ollie Robinson and Kyle Jamieson, plus two more for Nathan Smith and Gus Atkinson. Throw in the performances of Will O'Rourke, Josh Tongue and to a lesser extent Matt Henry and Ben Stokes and it's easy to see why the batters had such a tough time navigating the conditions.

For the batters, a fifty on debut for Emilio Gay was about the only highlight, so there's a temptation to put the game in the shredder and move on, but did either team get the tactics right? Was there a hint that the Bazball approach may well be changing after all?

To round out the show, we briefly discuss what's next for both sides. Will Matt Henry be fit for the second Test? Will Jofra Archer return to England's squad? And is Kane Williamson retiring?

We'll be back again with more news and views next week, most likely to look ahead to the second Test and look back at what happened elsewhere around the world. Until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website.

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0:00 Intro

2:15 England take a 1-0 lead at the home of cricket

10:20 The Lord's pitch was a shocker

14:30 NZ frustrations

21:05 Impressive bowling performances: England/Ollie Robinson

26:00 Should the Black Caps' batters have been more positive?

35:00 Did we see a change in England's approach?

42:30 Changes and retirements (?) for the rest of the series

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