England vs New Zealand, 1st Test Stats Review: Joe Root’s feat, Kane Williamson’s dismal form in England, and other stats

Daryl Mitchell’s century and Tom Blundell’s gutsy innings of 96 runs in the second innings went in vain as Joe Root smashed his 26^th Test century to begin the new England era with a victory at Lord’s. Chasing 277 to win, the hosts found themselves in big trouble at 69/4 but captain Ben Stokes scored 54 while the ever-reliable Root remained unbeaten on 115 runs to take his side 1-0 in the three-match series. The latter also became the joint-youngest player with Alastair Cook for completing the landmark of 10000 runs in Tests.

Speaking about how the match unfolded, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson had won the toss and opted to bat first. England’s Matty Potts had a dream debut as the pacer took four wickets while the veteran James Anderson also snared as many scalps to bundle out the visitors for just 132. Colin de Grandhomme top-scored for the Kiwis with 42 runs. In search of a huge first-innings lead, England suffered badly as they were all out for 141 runs courtesy of experienced Kiwi pair of Tim Southee and Trent Boult who took four and three wickets respectively.

Trailing by just nine runs, New Zealand were restricted to 56/4 as Williamson’s poor form in England continued. He managed to score only 15, while Tom Latham and Will Young also had a forgettable game, with both amassing just 15 and two runs respectively. It was all about Mitchell and Blundell later as the duo put on a 195-run stand for the fifth wicket. The former brought up his second century while Blundell fell just four runs of a well-deserving century at the home of cricket.

Stuart Broad took three while Potts impressed again in the second innings as the tourists were all out for 285. The inaugural World Test Championship winners tried hard but couldn’t take the prized scalp of Root, who scripted his personal milestones by slamming a fantastic hundred, which gave his side a victory under new captain Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. Therefore, the English side began their journey in red-ball cricket with a win as the visitors will be looking at the missed opportunity of taking their second-innings lead close to 400 runs. The second match of the series takes place on June 10^th at Trent Bridge, Nottingham with the Kiwis looking to level the series.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from 1^st Test between England and New Zealand:

 201 – Ben Stokes completed the milestone of 200 sixes across formats. He became the third England player after Eoin Morgan (328) and Jos Buttler (248) to achieve the feat.

108 – Daryl Mitchell registered his highest Test score of 108. His previous best was 102 not out against Pakistan in 2021.

10015– Root reached the landmark of 10000 Test runs. He became only the second England player after Alastair Cook (12472) to achieve the feat.

15 – Root is now equalled with four other England players at the top for smashing most Test centuries (15) at home.

26 – Root registered his 26^th Test tons, the second-most in the format amongst the active players. Virat Kohli and Steve Smith both are joint-top with 27 tons.

23.16 – Kane Williamson has scored 278 runs in 12 Test innings at an average of just 23.16 with one century and one half-century against England in England.

13 – Tim Southee equaled Shaheen Afridi at the top for picking up most four or more wicket hauls (13) in Tests since 2019.

1 – Root is now joint-top with Cook for being the youngest player (31y 157d) to 10000 runs in Tests. Sachin Tendulkar (31y 326d) is in the second spot.

1118 – Root also reached the milestone of 1000 runs against New Zealand.

93 – Stokes has now smashed the fifth-most sixes (93) in Test cricket. He surpassed Virender Sehwag who is in the sixth spot with 91 maximums.

2192 – Root has hammered 2192 runs in 21 matches at an average of 56.20 with nine centuries and four fifties since 2021.

4 – Devon Conway got dismissed by Stuart Broad for the fourth time in three matches.

249 – Tom Latham has scored just 249 runs in ten innings with two fifties against England in England.

61 – James Anderson is now joint-top with Richard Hadlee for taking most four-wicket hauls (61) by a pacer in Tests.