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Allrounder Jacob Oram called for sharp improvement from the New Zealand bowlers or face being “wiped off the park” by England in the first cricket Test at Lord’s.
England maintained control at stumps on the second day at 68 without loss in reply to New Zealand’s first innings of 277, thanks to a captain’s knock of 48 from Daniel Vettori.
New Zealand’s four pacemen toiled for 21.3 overs without success before bad light forced an early finish on a day when the mercury struggled to top 15 degrees.
Five separate breaks for bad light meant just 55 overs were bowled in the day.
“We’ve got to improve, if we don’t we’re going to be wiped off the park,” Oram said.
“That’s not a true indication of how we can bowl. The ball didn’t swing for us as much as we’d probably hoped and in the end we searched and pushed too hard.”
Alastair Cook was in solid form on 43, including five boundaries, with Andrew Strauss on 24.
Chris Martin and Oram were the pick of the bowlers, with Martin having the best chance when Cook edged him between fielders through the vacant third slip region on 37.
Tim Southee, playing his second Test, conceded 19 runs off three overs and was punished by Cook for three consecutive fours.
But Oram insisted their chances of an unlikely win hadn’t vanished, despite periods of rain being forecast for day three.
“We didn’t enter the game hoping for a draw and we’re still not playing for a draw at the moment.
“There’s still enough in the wicket and in the ball if we can get it right than we can start to make some inroads.
“If we get an opportunity and the weather stays overcast and drizzly, then that’s going to gave us an opportunity to keep chipping away.
“With the loss of time a result looks less and less likely but we’re still playing for a win.”
England paceman Ryan Sidebottom, man of the series in New Zealand, halted the tourists’ rearguard action with a spell of 4-5 off 10.1 overs after a wicketless first day.
He ended with 4-55 off 28 overs, and boosted his figures against New Zealand this year to 28 wickets at 16.6.
Oram said Sidebottom was as imposing as he was in New Zealand, an ominous sign for the touring batsmen for the rest of the series.
From a jittery 5-104 yesterday after being sent into bat, a total of 277 was satisfactory for New Zealand thanks to Vettori’s application.
He dug in for 162 minutes and 100 deliveries, including six fours.
It maintained his golden year with the bat, having scored 404 Test runs at 50.5 from nine innings.
But with a 17th Test half-century in reach, he shouldered arms to Sidebottom and the ball nipped back down the Lord’s slope.
England’s pacemen were more accurate and tried to unsettle the batsmen with short-pitched deliveries in the morning session.
Oram was struck a nasty blow on the shoulder by James Anderson before his 146-minute vigil for 28 ended when he edged a Sidebottom outswinger to Strauss at first slip.
Kyle Mills was bowled with the second new ball for 10 after 66 minutes at the crease while Southee had a similar fate on one, departing first ball after returning from a break for bad light.
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