...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??

As we look forward (and I mean, really look forward) to the first cricket Test between England and New Zealand at Lords, pause for a moment and spare a thought for two players - Aaron Redmond and James Marshall.


28 year old Redmond makes his International Test debut tonight (New Zealand time) on the biggest stage in cricket - a Test Match against England at Lords. Not only has he been handed the job of solidifying the long-term weakness of New Zealand's top-order batting (thanks, John) - he has to do it against an English team rearing to go at the start of their summer. And did we mention that it's at Lords?

And Marshall, too - spare him a thought. He'll be thrust into the number 3 position, another major on-going weakness for New Zealand - although his job might be made easier by the water-tight technique of Redmond.

Daniel Flynn, the hard-hitting Northern Districts rookie, also makes his Test debut - although coming in down the order will mean less initial pressure on him. He'll be hoping New Zealand have finally found an answer to their top order woes - with a solid foundation, Flynn has the potential to have an exciting impact coming in at 6. Throw into that middle order the returning Oram and, of course, the explosive McCullum, and we could have some exciting Test cricket ahead.

If the top order can manage to get to double figures, that is.

England, whilst missing the services of Flintoff, will field a very strong side - and New Zealand should be concerned.

Sidebottom was nothing short of spectacular during the tour to New Zealand, and with the confidence of 'England Player of the Year 2007' behind him, he's sure to make life very difficult for the New Zealand batsmen.

England's top order batting looks more-than-solid. With Strauss, Cook, Vaughan, Pietersen, Bell and Collingwood forming a nice blend of attack and defense in the top 6, it's hard to see how New Zealand's bowling attack is going to make significant in-roads.

And, if they do, they've learned the hard way that England's middle-lower order is no longer the fragile, splintered tail that it was.

Mentally, this match will be both tough but exciting for New Zealand. They've won 8 (yes, 8) out of the 91 Tests thay've played against England, but one of those, possibly New Zealand's greatest Test victory ever, came at Lord's in 1999. Could that be the motivation New Zealand need to turn true underdog status into their 9th Test win against England?

Chris Martin won't need any extra motivation, though - his young bowling partner, Tim Southee, has scored more runs than him in a single Test innings. Come on, Chris - it's time to get that avearge above 3.

He's one to watch, is Martin - if he decides he does want that average up, things could get very, very explosive.