Just when it looked as if England’s new era was going to start with a false dawn, up stepped a figure from the past to encourage thoughts of a brighter future.
Ollie Robinson has spent more than two years in exile, punished by the management for an attitude that, in India in early 2024, drove them to distraction. Now, on a gloomy afternoon at Lord’s, and with an England total of only 140 to defend, he rebooted his career with an astonishing triple-wicket maiden, his roars of delight drowned out by a jubilant crowd of 30,000.
His third ball angled into the left-handed Devon Conway, wringing a marginal lbw call out of Rod Tucker, while his fifth had Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s top-order gun, caught at short leg, the ball ballooning up from a tentative prod only moments after Emilio Gay had been placed by Ben Stokes under the helmet.
Robinson’s sixth delivery then pinned Rachin Ravindra in front, though Tucker took so long to uphold the appeal that the bowler had already turned round to gesture to team-mates his desire for a review. When their faces signalled Tucker’s assent, Robinson was celebrating his third wicket, and a comeback to rank with any.
Such was the euphoria that the dismissal of New Zealand captain Tom Latham, leg-before to Gus Atkinson to make it 12 for four, felt almost incidental.
But this was Robinson’s afternoon, and with the last ball of his fifth over he moved one back up the slope to hit the top of middle as Daryl Mitchell, scorer of three hundreds on New Zealand’s last visit here four years ago, shouldered arms: 20 for five, and England cock-a-hoop.
Ollie Robinson reintroduced himself to Test cricket with a triple-wicket maiden for England
Robinson had been exiled by England for two years but made his mark against New Zealand
Of his talent, there has never been any doubt. Even before this game, his 76 Test wickets had cost under 23 each – the best bowling average this country has produced since the 1960s. And it’s why his absence these past two years has been among the most infuriating aspects of the Brendon McCullum era.
Could the management have reintegrated him more quickly? Possibly, though in their minds they would have been taking a risk, having argued all along that they wanted Robinson to operate consistently in the low-to-mid 80mphs, the bracket in which they believe he is a world-beater.
And that has not happened until this summer, when the captaincy of Sussex has allowed him to manage his way through a draining two months of the county season. At one point, he was concerned that the demands of the circuit were hampering his pace, but a phonecall with managing director Rob Key reassured him England were happy with progress.
In the event, it didn’t matter that he regularly dipped below 80mph here, so helpful were the conditions and so accurate and probing his method. It was tempting to wonder what damage he might have caused on the helpful pitches served up in Australia.
By the time Robinson was replaced at the Nursery End by Ben Stokes with figures of 6-3-10-4, Josh Tongue had chipped in with the wicket of Tom Blundell, bowled off stump by a beauty. When bad light closed in at 7.20pm, New Zealand closed on 61 for six, still 79 behind but thankful for a counter-punch from Glenn Phillips.
The dramatic last two hours put into perspective England’s earlier demise, when excellent seam bowling, led by five wickets for Kyle Jamieson – like Robinson, playing his first Test for more than two years – condemned them to their lowest home total of the Bazball era. So much, it seemed, for the reset.
Between showers, and on a pitch of uneven – but mainly low – bounce, only Harry Brook had the nous to pass 20, and even he needed a pair of dropped catches, on eight and 45, to allow him to make as many as 56.
If anything, England were too timid, perhaps mindful of the criticism hurled their way during their misadventure in Australia. McCullum spoke in advance of the need for his players to better assess the moment, not to shelve their attacking instincts altogether.
Ben Stokes (centre left) and his England side will be relieved after a bad first innings at Lord’s
But Ben Duckett hinted at the collective mindset by resisting his natural urges and leaving alone Matt Henry’s first ball after Latham had won an important toss, and Jamie Smith later lost his off stump offering no shot to the menacing Jamieson. No one could accuse England of recklessness.
The closest to impetuosity came when Brook helped Nathan Smith to Jamieson at long leg, but by then he had only the lower order for company, and the ball was there to be hit. Since Brook had accounted for 10 of England’s 19 fours, no one could reasonably ascribe to him any blame.
Otherwise, it felt like the kind of demise that predated the Bazball era. Emilio Gay hit his first ball, an obliging full toss from Jamieson, through the covers, then eased him gracefully down the ground, before the same bowler expertly found his outside edge.
Duckett got into a tangle against Smith, and didn’t bother reviewing the lbw verdict, while Jacob Bethell – without any red-ball cricket since the Sydney Test in January – was undone by a full-length delivery from Will O’Rourke.
If any member of the top order was at fault, it was Joe Root, nibbling at one from O’Rourke he might have left. Stokes, meanwhile, was superbly held by a diving Williamson in the slips.
Not even an injury to Henry, who managed just four overs before suffering back spasms, could distract New Zealand, and England were grateful for a last-wicket stand of 22 between Tongue and Shoaib Bashir to avoid complete ignominy.
Moments later, Robinson did rather better than that, bringing a day of 16 wickets to rousing conclusion, and reminding everyone of the class that never went away.
