The first Test of the international summer delivered plenty of talking points, with the cricket generally hard-fought and an absorbing watch – until day five at least – while the final result left England’s think tank and fans alike with a few selection quandaries at the beginning of a crucial few months of cricket.
Sadly, the biggest of those talking points to come out of Lord’s was the discovery of racist and sexist tweets posted by debutant Ollie Robinson as a teenager. Robinson immediately offered a written apology, while doing the same in a press conference at the end of the day one, but the ECB has moved quickly to suspend the Sussex seamer from all international cricket pending the outcome of a disciplinary investigation.
What is clear is that Robinson is a different man, and cricketer, from the one who was released by Yorkshire early in his career following a string of disciplinary issues, but given the current climate, the ECB are right to take a zero tolerance approach with something as serious as this until the investigation is concluded. One can only hope there is a path back for Robinson through education and rehabilitation.
Elsewhere, my pre-series fears about both Kane Williamson and Neil Wagner were on the mark as the former failed twice with the bat and the latter was outshone by Tim Southee, with swing, not brawn, proving the key to inflicting casualties on a home batting line-up still without Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.
Williamson’s form away from New Zealand is finally beginning to draw attention, but I can’t believe a technician as good as this one will stay quiet for too long and with Devon Conway making a brilliant double hundred on debut at Lord’s, I'm struggling to find a bet in the top Kiwi batsman market.
My series investment on BJ Watling looks cooked already thanks to Conway's epic, but don’t discount the veteran if the tourists find themselves in a sticky situation and anything around the 3/1 mark for him to make a first innings fifty would be worth considering.
Much of the debate about England’s own batting line-up centres around the inevitable return of Stokes and Buttler, and who will have to make way once that duo slot back into the starting XI. Tom Bracey’s quiet debut means he will need a huge performance in Birmingham to keep himself in the frame for India, and indeed the Ashes, while Dan Lawrence played a dreadful shot last week, one he might well live to regret for some time to come.
I had also raised some concerns about Ollie Pope before last week’s Test, but he looked in typically excellent touch – making 22 and 20 not out – and was one of the only England players who appeared remotely interested in taking the game to New Zealand on the final day.
Posted at 0900 BST on 08/06/21
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