England left to regret ponderous start

At around the time that Tim Henman's French Open hopes began to go down the plughole, England's Test prospects came spouting back to life, and not for the first time. Their ability to come pouring back into the game after a big century stand was a feature of their Caribbean triumphs, and of the first Test at Lord's as well. All the more reason, therefore, to regret their ponderous start to the match.

For all the euphoria that surrounded Martin Saggers's first-ball wicket on Thursday afternoon, today it quickly became apparent that England had blown a precious opportunity to take control of the game. Michael Papps, who was dropped twice in that disembodied session, was reprieved again on 36 this morning, and by the time the sun burst through to flatten out an already slow pitch, New Zealand had their hundred up and were seemingly in control.

England suffered a wretched first session, in which Papps and Stephen Fleming used lashings of luck and generosity to reach 127 for 1. It was a measure of New Zealand's struggles that, of their first 103 runs, no fewer than 62 came behind square, most of them straight along the ground and through the slip cordon. It was little wonder that even Freddie Flintoff was unable to produce his trademark shrug when that chance went down off his bowling.

The pressure was certainly on New Zealand, especially when Saggers and Steve Harmison were in tandem. But Paul Collingwood missed a gimme of a run-out chance, and off the very next ball, Matthew Hoggard flung another opportunity straight past the stumps for four overthrows. When one of Michael Vaughan's shies did actually hit the stumps, with Fleming well in for a change, England celebrated with unusual glee - perhaps, given his impending fatherhood, the team was merely relieved that their captain still had his eye on the ball.

The afternoon session was one of gritty consolidation for New Zealand. Papps and Fleming suffered few scares and offered few excitements, save for one periscopic snick for four as Papps evaded a Harmison bouncer, and England replied in kind, with Ashley Giles coming on to tie up an end immediately after lunch. It was one of those old-fashioned sessions of dreary consolidation that ultimately turned the Lord's Test into a classic, and until the very last delivery with the old ball, it was all going New Zealand's way.

Then Flintoff made the breakthrough, Harmison and Saggers came flooding through the breach, and at 263 for 5 the game was right back in the balance. Chris Cairns and Brendon McCullum ensured that New Zealand finished the day in credit once again, but it was a close-run thing - closer, perhaps, than England should have permitted.