New Zealand stifle England in first Test

New Zealand took charge of the first Test at Lord's today, reducing England to 160 for four when rain forced an early close to the first day.
England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and batted but his side rarely got out of first gear in the face of some accurate bowling by the tourists.
Trent Boult was the pick of the attack, removing both Cook and Jonathan Trott after lunch on his way to an economical return of two wickets for 29 runs in 17 overs.
Fellow left-arm seamer Neil Wagner then dismissed Ian Bell for 31 in the final session.

When rain forced an early close, the inexperienced Yorkshire duo of Joe Root (25 not out) and Jonathan Bairstow (three not out) were at the crease.
England's plight would have been worse had not Jonathan Trott, who made a painstaking 39, been dropped by Bruce Martin off his own bowling when on nought.

New Zealand bowled 30 maidens in 80 overs on Thursday -- a testament to their accuracy and the inability of an England top-order missing the injured Kevin Pietersen to hit them out of their stride.
Although blue skies overhead on a sunny day promised ideal conditions for batting, an outfield relaid after the Olympic archery tournament at Lord's last year prevented several well-struck shots getting to the boundary.

England got off to a slow start after Cook won the toss with only two boundaries in the morning session.
Nevertheless, Cook and fellow opener Nick Compton were rarely troubled until the introduction of Bruce Martin, the sole specialist spinner in the side after he was preferred to Doug Bracewell.
New Zealand reeled off four consecutive maidens, including one from Martin before the left-armer floated a delivery up to Compton who, trying to hit 'inside out', miscued and was well caught off the edge by Tim Southee, running back at point for 16.