TOP SPIN ON THE TEST: Rory Burns and Dom Sibley dig in while James Bracey has a Test awakening as he becomes the ninth England player to begin his career with two ducks
- Rory Burns and Dom Sibley dug in to bat through to lunch on the first day
- They are the first openers to do so since Alistair Cook and Andrew Strauss
- James Bracey is the ninth England player to begin his Test career with two ducks
England finished on 258-7 on the first day of the second Test against New Zealand in front of an 18,000-strong crowd.
Sportsmail’s Lawrence Booth looks at the main takeaways from the action at Edgbaston.
Rory Burns and Dom Sibley became the first pair of England openers to bat through to lunch on the first day of a home Test since Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss against India at The Oval in 2011.
Rory Burns and Dom Sibley became the first pair of England openers to bat through to lunch on the first day of a home Test since Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss
Since making 53 in the first innings of the third Test against India at Ahmedabad in February, Zak Crawley – out wfor a fourth-ball duck – has made 18 runs in six innings at an average of three.
And since his 267 against Pakistan at Southampton last August, he is averaging nine.
James Bracey became the ninth England player to begin his Test career with two ducks, after Fred Grace (1880), Jim Smith (1935), Brian Close (1950), David Smith (1961), Butch White (1962), Graham Gooch (1975), Gavin Hamilton (1999) and Chris Tremlett (2007).
New Zealand have used 17 players at Lord’s and Edgbaston – only one short of the Test record for a two-match series, held by Sri Lanka against Bangladesh in 2002.
When fast bowler Matt Henry added the scalp of Joe Root to that of Sibley, it was the first time he had taken more than one wicket in a Test innings since December 2017.
James Bracey became the ninth England player to begin his Test career with two ducks
New Zealand have used 17 players at Lord’s and Edgbaston – only one short of the Test record for a two-match series
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