Root and Stokes revive England in first Test against New Zealand

LondonJoe Root and Ben Stokes both fell agonisingly short of a hundred after rescuing England from a dire position on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand at Lords on ThursdayAt stumps England who had been 30 for four when Stokes came in were 354 for seven after New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and fielded Root 98 and Stokes 92 had put on 161 for the fifth wicket Jos Buttler 67 and Moeen Ali 49 not out then added 103 before the wicketkeeper was lbw to Trent Boult off the last ball of the dayBen Stokes and Joe Root Pic AFPEngland came into this match dealing with the fallout from the sacking of coach Peter Moores and the ongoing furore surrounding Kevin Pietersens continuing exile from the side They were also up against a reinvigorated New Zealand side fresh from a run to the World Cup final that saw England humiliated along the way And when England lost those four early wickets it looked like their woes were about to multiplyYet it was two of Englands young guns the 24yearold Root and the 23yearold Stokes who turned the tide in the first of this twomatch series Earlier New Zealand were quickly among the wickets even though their three frontline bowlers including Test debutant Matt Henry plus McCullum himself had only arrived in England just days before after stints in the Indian Premier League But there were few early signs of rustiness on a greentinged pitch albeit the skies above Lords were largely sunny and blueInstead debutant England opener Adam Lyth selected after Jonathan Trott retired following a run of low scores during the drawn series in the West Indies was caught behind off Tim Southee for seven The 100th Test between England and New Zealand then saw the hosts lose three wickets for five runs in 15 balls Henry strikes Boult had Gary Ballance caught at third slip for one before England captain Alastair Cook 16 fell when beaten for pace by 23yearold Canterbury quick Henry he topedged an attempted hook through to wicketkeeper BJ Watling Henry who ended the day with three for 93 then produced another classic fast bowlers delivery to dismiss Ian Bell for one a fulllength ball pitching on off stump and holding its lineAt lunch England were 113 for four with Root 49 not out and lefthander Stokes unbeaten on 36 But it was Stokes the New Zealandborn son of former Kiwi rugby league international Ged Stokes but brought up in England who really took the attack to the tourists He went from 64 to 89 in just 11 balls including a pulled six off Henry and wellstruck fours through midwicket off Boult However Stokes eyeing what would have been just his second Test hundred following his brilliant 120 against Australia at Perth in December 2013 played a key role in his own downfall The Durham allrounder left a delivery from offspinner Mark Craig only to see the ball come down the Lords slope and bowl him Stokes trudged off having faced just 94 balls including 15 fours and a sixRoot however was 80 not out at tea but two runs shy of what would have been his third Test hundred in successive years at Lords underedged a cut off Henry and was caught behind by Tom Latham deputising for the injured Watling The Yorkshireman batted for more than threeandahalf hours facing 161 balls including 11 fours There was still time for Buttler and Ali to make a fifty apiece before leftarmer Boult eventually broke through with the new ball