New Zealand profit in Nottingham sunshine

After threatening to throw away a promising start, Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell put on an unbeaten 149 for the fifth wicket to take New Zealand to 318 for 4 at close

Trent Bridge (first day of five): New Zealand 318-4

Scorecard

New Zealand enjoyed a productive day in the Nottingham sunshine, closing on 318 for 4 at the end of day one at Trent Bridge.

Having lost the toss and been sent in to bat, stand-in skipper Tom Latham (26) and Will Young (47) fared much better than at Lord’s a week earlier, sharing an 84-run first-wicket stand.

However, the pair failed to capitalise on their promising start, falling to Ben Stokes (Young) and James Anderson (Latham) in the space of two deliveries.

^{England react as a chance goes through the slips [Stu Forster/Getty Images]}

In fact, Anderson (2 for 42) and Stokes (2 for 40) were England’s most threatening bowlers during the first two sessions, with the pair also accounting for Devon Conway (46) and Henry Nicholls (30), respectively, as the ball began to move before tea.

But Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell once again proved up to the task of first frustrating England and later punishing them. Jack Leach and Stuart Broad, in particular, conceded a flurry of boundaries from the pair, who put on an unbeaten 149 for the fifth wicket.

And unfortunately for England, unlike at Lord’s, fielding errors crept back in to play. Joe Root was guilty of one, dropping Mitchell at first slip off Broad when New Zealand’s No.5 was on three.

However, perhaps the most frustrating fielding calamity came at the end of the 83rd over when Broad, with a fairly new ball in hand, found Mitchell’s edge and could only watch in horror as the ball bisected Zak Crawley, stationary at second slip, and Jonny Bairstow at third and ran away to the boundary – a reprieve for Mitchell on 75.

Mitchell will resume on Saturday unbeaten on 81 from 147, a second century in his sights, while Blundell has 67 from 136.