“There’s always a few things to consider here,” says Williamson. “Looks like a reasonable surface. We’ve gone with Santner and de Grandhomme as two all-rounders options. It’s been mixed in terms of the weather. The Guys have been working really hard. The focus is on this series. We know how strong this England side is. It’s about trying to stick to our plans as best we can.”
“We would have batted as well but we have an opportunity to make use of some fresh green grass on that wicket,” Root says. “It’s great to have a crowd in – really special for everyone involved. Jack Leach misses out and we’re going to play four-seamers. When you have a player like him, he fills three positions in many ways, but this is a chance for guys to come in and prove they are capable at this level.”
Eng vs NZ 1st Test Day 1 Highlights today Wednesday, 6-02-2021 – 1st Test, New Zealand tour of England from Lord’s, London.
ICC Rankings Test, ODI & T20
Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bat.
England team: 1 Rory Burns, 2 Dom Sibley, 3 Zak Crawley, 4 Joe Root (captain), 5 Ollie Pope, 6 Dan Lawrence, 7 James Bracey (wk), 8 Ollie Robinson, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Mark Wood, 11 James Anderson.
New Zealand team: 1 Tom Latham, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson (captain), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Kyle Jamieson, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Neil Wagner.
Match Timings: 10:00 GMT | 11:00 Local
Umpires – Michael Gough, Richard Kettleborough
TV Umpires – Richard Illingworth
Match Referee – Chris Broad
Reserve Umpire – Mike Burns
Match number – Test no. 2422
