sport news England v New Zealand: Hosts should have resisted the urge to bowl first, David ... trends now

sport news England v New Zealand: Hosts should have resisted the urge to bowl first, David ... trends now
sport news England v New Zealand: Hosts should have resisted the urge to bowl first, David ... trends now

sport news England v New Zealand: Hosts should have resisted the urge to bowl first, David ... trends now

BUMBLE ON THE TEST: England should have resisted the urge to bowl first and may have bowed to the pressure of inserting New Zealand... while transparency is good - this is cricket, not the secret service!

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England endured a frustrating first day in their second Test against New Zealand, with Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell building a formidable fifth wicket stand.

Their partnership, worth 149 runs, dented the hosts' hopes of building on the momentum from their first showdown, with the tourists poised to build a big score.

Here, Sportsmail's DAVID LLOYD picks out his talking points from Trent Bridge... 

England endured a frustrating first day's play in their second Test against New Zealand

England endured a frustrating first day's play in their second Test against New Zealand

RESIST URGE TO BOWL FIRST 

After a terrific display in the field at Lord's, I wonder if England just felt the pressure of inserting New Zealand – and whether that pressure contributed to drops in the slips by Zak Crawley and Joe Root. It goes back to what Cyril Washbrook used to say at Lancashire, in the days when he ran the club with an iron fist: if you're thinking about bowling first, don't.

The hosts should have resisted the urge to bowl first, and could have felt the pressure

The hosts should have resisted the urge to bowl first, and could have felt the pressure

STOKES IS HEADING FOR PLAN C 

Cyril might have been a little dogmatic, in fairness. When you stick the opposition in, you're not always looking to bowl them out for 120, though obviously that's a bonus. Instead, you might have calculated that the best time to bat will be on days two and three, so you'll be quite happy knocking them over for

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