The opening day of the first Test between England and New Zealand made a controversy at Lord's Cricket Ground after falling by a total of 16 wickets. However, the former England captain Michael Vaughan blames the pitch on the first day of the Test.
The hosts, England, were packed out for 140 inside 40 overs, with Kyle Jamieson bagging five wickets. However, England made their comeback with Ollie Robinson bagging four wickets, reducing New Zealand to 61/6 at stumps for the day.
Vaughan takes a dig at the Lord's pitch
Speaking to BBC Test Match Special, Vaughan said, “From what I've seen on that pitch today, there's certainly been several balls where we've seen snickoffs, and we've seen a lot of LBWs where the players have been kind of on the front foot playing a forward defence. The balls just thudded into the pads, which tells you that the pitch is a little bit inconsistent in terms of bounce."
Entertaining cricket? …
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) June 4, 2026
A good pitch? 🤔@MichaelVaughan questions the Lord's surface after 16 wickets fell on a truncated day one. pic.twitter.com/3EGwcpzJBF
“I've been royally entertained. 16 wickets on day one. I don't think it's a good pitch. I think the MCC will be the first to admit that there's something not quite right with this square at Lords. It has been an issue for a few years now, since we had the test match against India last year. Brilliant game, and it was a great finish to a test match, but the pitch wasn't great. And the test match being so good in the end, I guess, stopped us all talking about the pitch. This isn't a great test match wicket, but we're royally entertained. I'm sure we'll have a great test match,” he added.
The next day of the test
After stumps on Day 1, Jamieson insisted on a huge chase for New Zealand to lead the team 1-0 in the Test. At stumps, New Zealand were trailing by 79 runs with Glenn Phillips and Nathan Smith in the strikes.
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Jamieson said, "Moving day has shifted from day three to day one. I suppose it's probably hard to process it at this point." He also adds "We've got a bit of work to do in the morning with the bat, and I'm sure we'll have another crack with the ball a
