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England secured vital ICC World Test Championship points by defeating New Zealand by 115 runs in the first Test at Lord’s. In a low-scoring match dominated by fast bowlers, Ben Stokes’s team won a valuable victory by defeating the visiting team in all four innings and collected 12 WTC points.
This result gives England the lead in the ICC World Test Championship standings, while New Zealand suffers its second defeat. Despite several impressive individual performances from the visitors, England’s pace attack consistently displayed match-winning magic to secure a convincing victory and take a 1–0 lead in the series.
England registered a spectacular win due to the brilliant performance of Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson.
After being bowled out for just 140 runs in their first innings, England made a brilliant comeback with the ball. Ollie Robinson produced one of his best spells in recent years, claiming 5/39 as New Zealand were bowled out for 113. The right-arm pacer removed Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell in a devastating spell, leaving New Zealand reduced to 20/5.
England then scored 226 runs in their second innings, with Emilio Gay top-scoring with 57 runs in the first innings, while lower order Jamie Smith contributed 39 runs and Ollie Robinson contributed 29 runs. Chasing 254 to win, New Zealand never recovered after losing captain Tom Latham for a duck in the opening over. Devon Conway fought hard with 41 and Glenn Phillips remained unbeaten on 44, but the visitors were eventually bowled out for 138. Gus Atkinson led the way with 5/30, while Robinson and Josh Tongue took two wickets each.
Despite excellent bowling by Jamieson and Smith, New Zealand is struggling
Despite the defeat, there were some positives for New Zealand. Kyle Jamieson made his Test return by taking five wickets in the first innings, taking 5/62 as England were bowled out for 140. Nathan Smith then stepped up in the second innings and kept New Zealand in the contest, claiming excellent figures of 6/70.
However, New Zealand’s batting unit failed to support its bowlers. The visitors were all out for 113 after being reduced to 29/6 in the first innings, while the top order once again struggled in the fourth innings. Williamson could score just 18 runs, Ravindra scored 8 runs and Mitchell was out for zero as England’s fast bowlers took full advantage of the conditions at Lord’s. The batting collapse ultimately proved costly and New Zealand were left empty-handed despite some excellent bowling performances.
ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 points table after England vs New Zealand 1st Test
| Situation | Team | played | won | lost | Drag | dead | score | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 87.50 |
| 2 | South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 75.00 |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 66.67 |
| 4 | new zealand | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 58.33 |
| 5 | bangladesh | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 58.33 |
| 6 | India | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 48.15 |
| 7 | England | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 37.88 |
| 8 | Pakistan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 8.33 |
| 9 | west indies | 8 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4.17 |
Also read: Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s Team India debut date revealed!
