London: After two days of being oppressed by New Zealand, England broke the stranglehold in impressive style to take charge halfway through the first Test at Lord's on Saturday. First, New Zealand was dismissed for 207 to give England a first-innings lead of 25, a significant amount on a tricky, soft pitch.
That lead was then boosted from 25 to 205, as Joe Root and Jonathan Trott found runs easy to harvest to help give England 180-6 at stumps. New Zealand fought back with four wickets in six overs in the last hour, three of them to the tireless Tim Southee, but that joy was offset by injuries to wicketkeeper BJ Watling, who hurt his left knee, and spinner Bruce Martin, who limped off after his 13th over. Neither finished the tea session.
Root, bowled for 71, one shy of his Test best on debut in December, and Trott combined for a stand of 123, easily the biggest of the match. They scored at pace to give themselves at least the last four sessions to bowl at New Zealand. Especially after New Zealand's first bat lasted less than three sessions. Root and Trott came together when New Zealand thought they regained the advantage by removing both openers with the total on 36.
Captain Alastair Cook was undone on 21 by leftie seamer Trent Boult for the fourth time in four Tests. Fellow opener Nick Compton, on 15, was set up well by Neil Wagner, who threw three
11:36 PM, May 18, 2013
London: New Zealand will assess weather and pitch conditions on Thursday morning before making a final decision on whether to field four pace bowlers in the first Test against England at Lord's. On the eve of the first match in the two-Test series on Wednesday, captain Brendon McCullum said the final place would go to either Doug Bracewell or left-arm spinner Bruce Martin, who played in the drawn three-match series...
09:32 PM, May 15, 2013
In pursuit of a record target of 481, England finished day four on 90 for 4 in the final game of the series. ... 
Left-arm fast bowler Trent Boult took 6 for 68 as New Zealand dismissed England for 204 in reply to their own first innings of 443. ... 
In their reply to New Zealand's 443, England closed day two on 50 for 2 at Auckland. ... 
Peter Fulton (124) and Kane Williamson (83) added an unbeaten 171 for the second wicket as the hosts closed the day on 250 for 1 against England. ... 
New Zealand were 77 for 1 and trailed England by 134 runs at stumps on day three with Williamson (16) and Fulton (41) unbeaten at the crease. ... 
The injury-hit hosts must dig deep if they want to prevent England winning their first ODI series in New Zealand since 1992. ... 
Though the series is already sealed, both teams have something to play for in the final match at Potchefstroom. ... 
After a long day in the field, Sri Lanka lost Dilshan, Sangakkara and Jayawardene to slump to 43 for 3 by stumps on day two. ... 
R Ashwin's 12-wicket match haul helped India beat New Zealand by an innings and 115 runs in the first Test and take 1-0 lead in the two-match series. ... 
Kemar Roach took 60 for 5 and Chris Gayle hit 64 not out to lead West Indies to a nine-wicket victory over New Zealand. ... 
NZ will hope the return of their best batsman keeps the momentum going. ... 
