...because it really has ruined what would have turned out to be an absorbing first cricket Test between England and New Zealand at Lords. Like any good International Test the match has swung both ways and, had London been spared the rain, an entrallining final day would have been on the cards. As it stands, however (world-record heroics from either side withstanding), the final day (rain or not) looks to be a write-off. New Zealand are sitting at a comfortable 40/0, just 2 runs behind England's first innings total of 319, and will look to bat for as much of the day as possible. With a result an extremely unlikely outcome, it's time to look at the individual performances from the match so far, and look forward to the rest of the [rain-uninteruppted, please] series.

New Zealand's first innings batting was - well - not good. It could potentially have been worse, but the real test for New Zealand was always going to be how the new-look top order held up.

And it didn't.

Redmond was perhaps (who are we kidding - he was) overwhelmed by the occasion, and a 5-ball duck ensued. New Zealand's other opener, How, managed only 7 runs, and a familiar tale then followed for New Zealands top order. Marshall scratched out 24, and Taylor's innings of 19 can only be described with a wry smile, and as 'interesting'.

Cue another familar tale from New Zealand - a middle-lower order wag. McCullum, fresh from the shores of India and the excitement of the IPL, played 'within himself' to score a gutsy 97 from 97 balls. Yes - we said 'within himself'. Oram and Vettori both contributed, with Vettori falling 2 short of another Test 50.

Statistically, there's yet more familiarity for New Zealand - the top 4 batsmen managed just 50 runs (an average of 12.5) between them, with the next 4 batsmen scoring 182 (averaging 45.5 each). A fantastic statistic from the perspective of the middle order, but when you consider that extra's contributed 34 runs (16 short of New Zealand's top 4) - it's a real worry.

James Anderson began the rot, and finished with 3-66. Sidebottom, though, finished off the pesky New Zealand tail and ended with the excellent, excellent figures of 4-55 - at an economy rate of 1.94. Justifiably Englands Player of the Year for 2007? We think so.

Interestingly - very interestingly - England's scorecard reads almost the opposite to New Zealand's.

England's top 4 - 233 runs between them at an average of 58.25. Compare that to New Zealand's top 4 total of 50 runs, and the New Zealand players involved have some personal examination ahead.

England's next 4, however - a total of just 47. That's an average of just 11.75 runs per wicket for England's middle order, with Bell, Collingwood and Ambrose all failing to put anything meaningful on the board.

It's funny, really - as much of a problem New Zealand has with their top order, we here in the Attic think England's problem is worse. New Zealand usually don't get themselves into a position of dominance with the bat, and so when the middle-lower order fire it's an encouraging fightback - it ends the innings on a positive note for New Zealand, and an innings like McCullum's (and, to a lesser extent, Vettori's) does a good job of demoralising an opposing team who probably feel like they're making speedy inroads.

Woe betide the English fan, however, who see's 230 runs put on by the top 3, only to see the other 8 batsmen score 66 between them. All that expectation - dashed. That fantatsic postion that effectively had New Zealand on the ropes - lost. England were in a position to score in excess of 400, and put themselves at least 150 runs ahead of New Zealand - and lump a whole lot of pressure on them, too. At this stage, with New Zealand at 40/0 - well, they'd still be over 100 runs off Englands first innings total, and there'd actually be pressure on them going into the last day. Instead, the two sides are effectively starting day 5 from scratch, with a draw the only real result possible. Sure, with the amount of rain that has fallen on Lord's in the past few days, a draw was probably the only likely result anyway. But that's the point we're making - when you're short on time in a match, pressure is everything. And England have failed to capitalise on a potentially pressurising position.

Top marks to Vaughan, though - a fantastic century under real pressure. Not from a match perspective - his opening pair made sure his position was a comfortable one. But from a career perspective - Vaughan has silenced (if only temporarily) those critics who have been calling for an end to his reign. There were glimpses of the Vaughan that any cricket fan would pay to watch, and those glimpses are extremely encouraging signs for the England side - especially with a series against South Africa to come this year.

Strauss and Cook, too, deserve a mention. Both scored in the 60's, and laid the foundation for their captain to play his dominant hand. Strauss is another one who is under real career-pressure, and he continues his surge back towards his best.

New Zealand's bowling - Daniel Vettori, take your hat off. After an innings of 48 that steadied the batting ship, he took 5-69 in the second phase of his captain's hand - his best bowling figures against England and, along with Vaughan, he writes himself onto the Lord's Honours Board.

Martin and the young Tim Southee bowled well, and provided Vettori the pressure he didn't necessarily need, but certainly used. Oram, too, bowled well - that nagging, undriveable length bagging him 2-45.

And finally - Stuart Broad. What a talent England have uncovered, and what an exciting prospect for the future of cricket. He showed glimpses of real class with the bat and ball and, with some experience and maturity, is sure to become a fantastic allrounder for England in the coming years.

So, all freak-occurences aside on the final day - we now cast our eyes towards the second Test, starting on May 23rd.

Some serious questions need to be asked - by both teams - before that match gets underway. Can New Zealand find a way to solidify their top order, and provide a proper platform for their powerful and effective middle order to launch from? Can England make the most of their in-form top order, and push on towards a big score, rather than a solid one?

What are your thoughts, sports fans??