Kane Williamson excited for 'cool' moment with Kohli, rates Indian bowling 'fantastic'

Kane Williamson's New Zealand tick many boxes in lost opportunity to win Lord's Test

New Zealand may well have delayed declaring their second innings on the final day of the first Test against England at Lord’s but skipper Kane Williamson said that the team gave themselves ‘best chance to win’ by having enough overs left in the bank to dismiss England. However, England batsmen were equal to the task and saved the game that left Williamson disappointed and lamenting losing a whole day to bad weather which washed out the third day’s play at Lord’s. "As we know in Test cricket you have your ebbs and flow but coming into day and having a bit of work to do in that morning session to give ourselves a chance, I thought the guys played some superb cricket throughout to give us that potential opportunity. Unfortunately it wasn't to be today, losing a day to weather doesn't help the cause but I thought the efforts were certainly there,” Williamson said in the post-match press coneference. He also had high expectations from the surface that it would be deteriorating big time on the final day but it ‘flattened' out’ and did not offer them enough to challenge England batsmen for a longer period of time. "We made the decision based on what gave us potentially the best chance to win the game or enough overs. We knew losing a day was going to be tough but we wanted to give it a crack. Unfortunately towards the end things fizzled out a bit, we were expecting the pitch to deteriorate a bit more and it did show signs on day four in particular that that was going to happen, but it sort of flattened out,” Williamson said. Asked about England not going after the chase of 273 runs in the last two sessions, Williamson said that like him, the hosts too thought the pitch would misbehave far too much. He said that if he was the one to take that call of going for the chase or giving up on it, he would have tried to have a solid base before trying to tee off in the last phase of the game to minimise the risk of losing. "It's always tough to know how an opposition will look to attack a chase, obviously all three results still possible. If we were in that position, you do want to get a really good base and try to take the game to a deep stage where you might have a smaller chase of less overs but throw all your resource at it. Clearly there was a lot of work to do to get to that, a lot of overs left and I think both sides were expecting the pitch to deteriorate more,” Williamson argued. However, he agreed to Joe Root’s observation that scoring runs at a brisk pace was not a viable option and the things could not quite work well for both sides in the last session as the tourists failed to break through on regular intervals and hosts struggled to score a lot of runs. "It kind of ebbed and flowed, and scoring wasn't quick throughout. We felt if we could pick up wickets throughout that would give us the best opportunity and life could be quite difficult, but that wasn't the case. Things didn't perhaps unfold for either side." Although they should have won the game after such a resounding start, New Zealand would walk away more happy having ticked more boxes than the hosts England. However, they would have to find answers to the questions surrounding the all-rounder and spinner in the playing XI. Mitchell Santner played ahead of Ajaz Patel for the all-around abilities he brings to the table, but he could not get amongst wickets. However, Williamson outlined ‘game-changing’ opportunities he created in the first innings and bemoaned the lack of deterioration of the pitch in the second innings. "It was important for Mitch to get out there and bowl and get comfortable and he created a few opportunities, certainly in that first innings, which were potentially game-changing, and we know he can bat really well as well. It would have been nice if things showed a bit more deterioration on the pitch, and from a straighter line, but it was a pretty good surface with a bit in it for everybody,” Williamson backed Santner. New Zealand would be strengthened even more with a likely return of Trent Boult in the second Test at Edgbaston starting June 10 and Williamson would be eyeing a massive opportunity to clinch the series against the hosts before getting onto the World Test Championship final against India.

ENG vs NZ | 1st Test: Joe Root defends not going for unrealistic win on final day

England skipper Joe Root defended the approach of not going after the target of 272 runs set by New Zealand, to chase in the last two sessions of the first Test. He said that going over three runs per over from the start of an innings was not as ‘straightforward’ as it would appear for the outside world on a pitch not playing at its ‘absolute best.’ "Having played on that wicket for a few days, we knew it wasn't going to be as straightforward as it looked. If you look at the run rate throughout the game, it was hard to score above three an over even when the pitch was at its absolute best,” Root said. Root said that England were keen to lay down a strong foundation but by the time they got through safely from the new ball spells of Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson, the chance of them going for the win became unrealistic. He lamented the lack of discipline while batting in the first innings. However, the skipper went on to say that the resilient efforts in the second innings can give England a lot of confidence going into the second Test. "We wanted to lay ourselves a foundation, but, once we got through the initial phase, it just didn't feel like there was a realistic opportunity for us to win the game. So it was about using it as an opportunity to be a bit more disciplined as a batting group. At times in the first innings, we showed a little bit of ill-discipline. This was a chance to put that right and take a bit of confidence going into the rest of the series,” Root added. Root added that England were ‘hammered’ in the first Test of the last two series against New Zealand and hence going into the Edgbaston Test will give his side a lot of confidence as the chance of series win is still on the cards. "The last two times we've played in New Zealand we've been hammered in the first game and pretty much out the series. But going to Edgbaston, this series is very much alive. We've got a chance to win it and we can take confidence from some very good individual performances in this game,” Root concluded. Opener Dominic Sibley started the Lord’s Test at the worst possible note, getting out for a duck against Jamieson. He was under enormous pressure coming into the first Test after having not passed a double-digit score in the last six innings. However, in the second innings, he showed firm resistance amid stern examination from New Zealand pacers on the final day that earned a high amount of praise from captain Root, who commended his mental capacity and ability to stand up in tough situations. "He showed great resilience and character out there. He really did trust his defence and show that he has the mental capacity for Test cricket. Sometimes you learn a lot about players in those situations. On a surface like that, where the ball was going up and down, when guys respond in that manner, it tells you a lot about them. I'm really pleased for him and it will give him a lot of confidence,” Root added. England would walk away from the Test being the number two side and if not for the openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley, the situation could have been a lot worse than what it turned out to be. Root recognised the fragile middle-order and said that England batting unit is far too good to not learn quickly and not respond well to it. "I think there were a number of dismissals that weren't good enough for Test cricket in the first innings," he said. "We are better than that as a side. They're going to have to learn very quickly in this environment. But you know they have the right attitude and the right temperament. When they have made mistakes in the past, they have responded well,” Root reasoned. "Today was an opportunity to show that we can be a little bit more resilient and harder to get out. The guys fronted up and I think they did it very well." England will play New Zealand in the second Test of the series starting June 10 in Birmingham and Root has already declared that his side will be out to win the game and series having won some confidence from a draw at Lord’s.

Trent Boult out of isolation, in line to play 2nd Test against England

New Zealand pacer Trent Boult may well play the second Test of the series against England scheduled to start on June 10 at Edgbaston. The United Kingdom government has relaxed its isolation norms that allowed the left-arm bowler to get out of quarantine four days prior to the pre-decided schedule. New Zealand coach Gary Stead confirmed that Trent Boult is in the reckoning for the second Test but the team has not taken a decision yet as they want to make sure that he is prepared for an all-important World Test Championship final. "There's a chance, there are a few things that have changed. The British government has relaxed their quarantine stipulations so Trent is out of isolation three or four days earlier than expected,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said after the conclusion of the Lord’s Test. "The original plan we had in place with all the information we had at the time was we weren't going to play him in the second Test, but coming out of that isolation probably three days earlier than what we originally anticipated does put a slightly different spin on it. So we'll weigh up the pros and cons and work out with Trent what we think is the best course forward to make sure he is fit and raring to go for that final. "Trent is keener than he was a week ago and that's because he's over here now, he's part of the environment. Probably right now it's a bit early to make that call, he's only been here 48 hours and probably still suffering a little bit of jet lag." Trent Boult did not travel to the UK and chose to travel back to New Zealand to see his family before coming on the tour. He was all but ruled out of the series against England but for the relaxed isolation norms that have put him back in the reckoning for the second Test.

Ollie Robinson suspended from international cricket after ECB launches investigation

England new pace sensation Ollie Robinson has been banned from all forms of international cricket pending a disciplinary investigation into his tweets from 2012 and 2013. Robinson has already apologised for what he called ‘thoughtless’ tweets after those went viral on the first day of the first Test against New Zealand. Following the suspension, Robinson will not be available for the second Test of the series against New Zealand starting June 10 at Edgbaston and the ECB media release said that the Sussex pacer will leave the England camp immediately to join his county side. The extent of the suspension and the duration of the investigation has not been stipulated by the ECB and if it takes a long time, Robinson might have to sit out the series against India starting the first week of August as well. Robinson was at the top of his mark in the first Test and picked up seven wickets across two innings that included the big wickets of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. He was the pick of England bowlers at Lord’s and helped England in stopping New Zealand from running away with the game on the fourth and fifth day of the Test.