England defeat New Zealand at Lord’s

England registered a commanding 115-run victory over New Zealand in the first Test at Lord’s. Chasing a target of 253 runs, New Zealand were bowled out for 138 in their second innings. England’s pace attack dominated the match, with Gus Atkinson taking 5 wickets in the second innings, while Ollie Robinson delivered a match-winning spell overall with 7 wickets, including 5 in the first innings and 2 in the second.

In the World Test Championship standings, New Zealand slipped from second place (77.78% points) to fourth position with 58.33%. South Africa and Sri Lanka moved ahead of them. England, despite the win, remain seventh but improved their points percentage to 37.88. India hold sixth place with 48.15%. The victory gave England a strong start to the series.