sport news NASSER HUSSAIN: Ben Stokes impressed me on his first day as England captain but ... trends now
Many of the things England have been doing wrong in the field over the last 17 Test matches they got right on Ben Stokes' first day as full-time captain. It was just a pity their old failings with the bat came back to haunt them.
The seamers bowled a fuller length, the fielders caught everything, with Jonny Bairstow setting the tone at third slip to catch Will Young, and the bowlers didn't overstep once, where recently they've been taking wickets with no-balls.
But no matter how much good work Stokes did in the first half of the day, he was reminded in the second half that England's Test batting is still a big issue. There's plenty of work still to be done - technically, mentally and positionally.
Many of the things England have been doing wrong in the field over the last 17 Test matches they got right on Ben Stokes' (second right) first day as full-time captain at Lord's on Thursday
The seamers, like the recalled James Anderson (above), bowled fuller and didn't overstep once
And the fielders caught everything, with Jonny Bairstow (left) setting the tone at third slip
For instance, having Ollie Pope batting at No 3 for the first time was never going to be straightforward. But this is a structural, long-term problem, and it's not going to be solved overnight. Until that dreadful final session, there were reasons to be cheerful.
Cricket is fundamentally a simple game, and for too long England have been over-complicating it. For example, I liked the fact that Brendon McCullum said he wasn't going to do rotation: he'd simply pick the best team in front of him for each game.
He and Stokes weren't too fussed either about having a longish tail, with no Chris Woakes to bridge the gap at No 8. They've chosen their best six batters, and their best four bowlers.
Of course that doesn't mean you're necessarily going to have the opposition 45 for seven after losing
