England vs New Zealand: Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum's side hint at signs of development despite frantic nature of Lord's Test

08.06.2026, 08:51 skysports.com

Following all the pre-match talk about whether England's style would change in the wake of the Ashes debacle, a quick scour of the Lord's scorecard post their rout of New Zealand would suggest more of the same.

Another wildly quick match (after a couple of Ashes two-dayers, the first Test against the Black Caps could potentially have gone the same way but for wet weather on Thursday and Saturday) and some dramatic batting collapses (England lost three wickets for three runs in their first innings and four for one in their second).

But the awful Lord's pitch, not reckless batting from both sides, was to blame for the shortness of the game - 40 wickets fell in just 166 overs, that's one every 24.9 deliveries - leaving spectators with tickets for day five at a loose end. The MCC issued a swift apology on Sunday afternoon, promising to "act quickly".

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It is hard to make a ruling on whether England are the "smarter" version of themselves coach Brendon McCullum said they needed to be based on this game on a shocker of a surface.

Yet there were positive signs.

McCullum's men did not implode after those wobbles of 3-3 and 1-4, while we saw examples of adapting to situations, an element that has often been their nemesis - see Perth in November 2025 as a recent example.

As wickets tumbled in England's first innings at Lord's, Harry Brook - after a cautious start which saw him on nought after 10 deliveries - realised a ball was going to have his name on it and took the aggressive option, swatting his side from 55-5 and into three figures.

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Actually, three balls had Brook's name on them but New Zealand dropped the first two (Devon Conway at backward point, Rachin Ravindra at deep square) before the Yorkshireman perished for a 71-ball 56 that featured 10 boundaries.

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So, yes, Brook enjoyed slices of fortune but made his own luck on a deck where being passive was punished. If anything, Brook's team-mates were too shot-shy in their opening dig. New Zealand's batters certainly were throughout, bar Glenn Phillips and Kyle Jamieson.

However, there was still time for old-fashioned application when facing excessive seam movement and up-and-down bounce on this pilloried pitch, as displayed by Ben Duckett and his opening partner, England debutant Emilio Gay.

Duckett has famously shunned the leave since returning to the Test team in 2022 but shouldered arms to three of the first four balls he faced and saw out a match-opening maiden after the hosts had been stuck into bat by New Zealand on Thursday morning.

Then when he and fellow left-hander Gay strode out for England's second knock the following day, they dug in and withstood some high-quality bowling, and the surface's devilish nature, to share a half-century stand of 52 in 13.4 overs. With the home team only leading by 27 runs on first innings, it was a crucial partnership.

It was achieved by using smarts: blocking the straight balls that caused carnage in this match - 24 of the 40 dismissals were bowled or lbw - and then scoring off the wide ones. England showed an ability to think, to plan. Another hint that they are developing.

Gay, who has taken the place of axed Bazball stalwart Zak Crawley, was key to that and he looked pretty unflustered on his Test bow, hitting the top score in the contest with 57 from 95 balls.

The fact he was told by McCullum to change nothing about a game that had flourished in county cricket and taken him to this level hits back at the notion that England want all their batters to bash it.

After Gay's dismissal to a fine delivery from Nathan Smith - one of four bowlers to snatch a five-wicket haul here, alongside fellow Kiwi Jamieson and England's Ollie Robinson and Gus Atkinson - the home team went on to lose four wickets in 11 balls.

But like with Brook on the opening day, they had a counter-attacking threat. This time it was Jamie Smith, supported by Atkinson, and then Robinson who pumped up the score to 226 and set New Zealand a target of 254 that the Kiwis never came close to achieving.

McCullum said to Sky Sports after the thumping 115-run victory: "We need to be malleable, depending on the surface. Nothing needs to be so binary to play one way.

"I thought the conversations that our boys had throughout the Test match, from a coach's point of view, were fantastic and that allowed us to be slightly more adaptable when we needed.

"I also thought the guys were really brave in parts. When I say brave, I don't mean running down the wicket, swinging brave - though there will be times where that is required. I mean brave as in this is a tricky surface."

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McCullum referenced England batters changing where they stood at the crease "giving the bowler something different to look at" and was "really proud" that "the communication was the best that we've seen for a while."

Yes, it is a small sample size - one game on a surface that people want ripped up - but maybe Bazball has grown up?

Proper judgement will come at the conclusion of this three-match series - McCullum's men face New Zealand at The Kia Oval and Trent Bridge later this month - or the end of the summer, with Pakistan to visit for a trio of Tests across August and September.

Yet despite the frantic nature of the Lord's Test, it did feel more reset than repeat. A promising first step after a winter of missteps.

Now if only the captain could score some runs...

Watch day one of the second Test between England and New Zealand, at The Kia Oval, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am on Wednesday June 17 (11am first ball). Stream cricket and more with NOW - no contract.