England Face Uphill Battle With New Zealand

England face an uphill battle to stay in the first Test after closing day three at Lord’s on 74-2 in their second innings, 60 runs behind New Zealand.

The home side slipped to 25-2 in response to New Zealand’s first innings 523 – which earned the tourists a lead of 134 - as Adam Lyth (12) and Gary Ballance (0) fell cheaply.

But captain Alastair Cook (32no) and Ian Bell (29no) shared an unbroken 49 before stumps to limit the damage.

New Zealand began the day on 303-2, 86 runs behind, but erased the deficit in a rain-shortened morning session as Williamson (132) and Ross Taylor (62) improved their third-wicket stand to 189.

Williamson, 92 not out overnight, became just the 13th New Zealand batsman to reach three figures at Lord’s – registering his 10th Test century off 148 balls with 12 fours.

It took a superb piece of fielding from Jos Buttler to break the stand – the wicketkeeper springing to his left to take an excellent one-handed catch as Taylor gloved Stuart Broad (3-77) down the leg-side.

Skipper Brendon McCullum (42 off 38) was in typical swashbuckling mode after striding to the crease at 337-3 and smashed Mark Wood (3-93) for four behind square to bring the scores level.

The Durham seamer exacted his revenge – and claimed his maiden Test wicket – when McCullum miscued a pull, the ball flying to third man where Joe Root pouched the catch safely.

Buttler produced another moment of brilliance after a lengthy rain delay, this time diving to his right to pouch a one-handed catch as Corey Anderson gloved behind but Bell couldn’t maintain the standard, shelling a chance offered by Williamson on 120no at second slip – Ben Stokes the unfortunate bowler.

Williamson’s stay came to an end after 262 balls when Ballance snapped up a bat-pad chance off Moeen Ali, the spinner trapping Mark Craig for a duck two balls later.

The innings rather petered out around a gutsy innings from BJ Watling, who rode his luck to score an unbeaten 61 – a total eclipsed by the 67 extras racked up by England, the highest number ever conceded in a Lord’s Test.

England’s top-order – reduced to 30-4 in the first innings – struggled again in reply as debutant Lyth edged Trent Boult to Tim Southee at slip after hitting three boundaries off eight balls.

Southee then bowled Ballance for a 12-ball duck, clipping the top of off-stump with the left-hander rooted deep in his crease.

Bell – dismissed for a single in the first innings – got off the mark with an aerial four behind point but increasingly looked at home, as did Cook who got away with a miscued pull when he'd scored just two.