England struggle to exploit toss as New Zealand reaches 104-2 at lunch on Day 1 of first Test

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — England struggled to fully exploit an advantageous toss as New Zealand reached 104-2 at lunch Thursday on the first day of the first test.

Captain Ben Stokes won the toss and was happy to be able to give his bowlers first use of a green pitch at Hagley Oval in the city in which he was born.

But the England bowlers weren’t consistent in line and length and a brisk 47 from New Zealand opener Tom Latham allowed the home team to take the upper hand in the first session. Kane Williamson was 26 not out and Rachin Ravindra 21 at the break.

England did enjoy early success when Devon Conway (2) was out in the second over of the day.

Conway played well forward to a ball from Gus Atkinson and was through his shot too early. The ball struck high up on the bat and flew back to the bowler who took a superb catch at knee height in his follow-through.

When the bowlers found a tight line and good length outside off stump with a little seam movement, the batters had to be precise in deciding when to play and when to leave. But much of the bowling early on was too short, too wide and Latham was able to cash in.

He took New Zealand to 43-1 after 10 overs and to 50 in the 12th over. At the same time, Williamson was watchful at first, taking 15 balls to get off the mark.

Williamson came back into the New Zealand team for this test after missing its 3-0 series win in India because of injury.

Latham had scored 47 from 54 balls with six fours when he was out in the 14th over to a good ball from Brydon Carse. Bowling over the wicket to the left-hander, Carse produced a good-length ball which went across the batsman and took a faint outside edge as Latham tried to work it into the leg side.

Wicketkeeper Ollie Pope completed the catch. Pope took the gloves after Jordan Cox, who was set to make his test debut Thursday, suffered a broken thumb in training. England handed a debut to 21-year-old Jacob Bethell who will bat at No. 3, though he has yet to score a century in first-class cricket.

Williamson’s innings began to blossom before lunch. He hit two consecutive fours, a classic cover drive and pull behind square, as New Zealand brought up its hundred in the 22nd over.

Some of the England bowlers found difficulty with their footing, particularly with their front foot placement, with a little bit of moisture still in the pitch.

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