England lose way after good start

Earlier, Stewart rode his luck and came good and passed 6,000 runs in Test cricket, but was out just before lunch, which England took at 80 for two.

In the low-scoring first Test at Edgbaston, which England won by seven wickets, Stewart had made 1 and 0, facing a total of six balls. He also missed three catches in the slips and looked badly short of confidence.

But his successor as captain Nasser Hussain, immediately declared his faith in him and was rewarded after winning the toss and deciding to bat in overcast conditions.

Stewart nevertheless had one or two uncomfortable moments.

He would have been run out after making seven had Dion Nash’s throw from mid-off not missed the stumps by a whisker. Then he almost edged Nash onto his wicket.

Once taking three fours in an over from the same bowler, Stewart still looked more settled than his his Surrey team mate Mark Butcher, who fell with the score at 35.

Butcher touched Chris Cairns to wicket-keeper Adam Parore, having made only eight from 52 balls in the first hour’s play.

Stewart hit eight fours in his 50, which came from 58 balls.

Only four balls later, he tried to steer Nash to the third man boundary, which had earlier proved a profitable tactic. This time New Zealand’s captain Stephen Fleming picked up a good low catch at first slip.

Graham Thorpe, the third Surrey man in the top four, survived a confident shout from Nash off the second ball he faced. At lunch he was one not out, with Hussain on nine.

England had unexpectedly had to omit a fourth Surrey player, Alex Tudor, after implying the previous day that he was fit.

He was suffering from a knee injury and Kent’s Dean Headley replaced him as the only change from Edgbaston, where Tudor had been England’s hero by making an unbeaten 99.

New Zealand also made one change, replacing the injured bowler Simon Doull with an extra batsman in opener Matthew Bell.

SCOREBOARD

England (1st innings): Mark Butcher c Parore b Cairns 8, Alec Stewart c Fleming b Nash 50, Nasser Hussain batting 35, Graham Thorpe c Astle b Cairns 7, Mark Ramprakash lbw b Nash 4, Aftab Habib b Nash 6, Chris Read b Cairns 0, Andrew Caddick run out 18, Dean Headley batting 4; Extras: (b5, lb7, nb12) 24. Total: (for 7 wkts, 52 overs) 156

Fall of wickets: 1-35, 2-79, 3-102, 4-112, 5-123, 6-125, 7-150

Bowling: Allott 10-1-37-0, Cairns 17-1-62-3, Nash 18-9-36-3, Astle 7-3-9-0