Joe Root defends England's final-day approach, says chasing wasn't 'realistic'
"It was about using it as an opportunity to be a bit more disciplined as a batting group"
"It was about using it as an opportunity to be a bit more disciplined as a batting group"
Scorer: @Thilak_Rama | Commentator: Karthik Krishnaswamy
7.25pm Phew, that was a difficult presentation to transcribe, with everyone speaking at 2.3x speed. I hope I got it all down reasonably verbatim. Big news is that Joe Root doesn't know if Ollie Robinson will be available for selection for the second Test. That game begins on June 10. Make sure you tune into our coverage of that game. Until then, it's goodbye from me, Varun, Thilak and everyone else who's been involved in this game.
Devon Conway, the player of the match: "I couldn't imagine standing in this positon after my debut, so it's a pretty special feeling. It was on the slower side, it definitely deteriorated a little bit. If that one day hadn't been lost, we could have created a result. Pretty good wicket, offered something to the batters and the bowlers as well. If I got my chance at a younger age, I may not have known my game as well as I do now. I'm grateful to have gotten the opportunity. Facing Jimmy and Broady, their control, they don't give you a lot to score. I've had a lot of conversations before coming here, with guys who've faced them in the past, and it was all about accepting that and waiting for your opportunities to score."
Kane Williamson: "We had a little bit of work to do in the morning before we were where we wanted to be, and the guys responded to give us the runs we needed with the time remaining, but the weather forced our hand a bit. If it wasn't for that lost day, we would have seen a fantastic finish to what was a very good game of cricket. Scoring was reasonably slow throughout this game, and building a platform was important, and to be fair to England they did that. Special performance from Conway, a special player. He showed his class in his debut Test at the home of cricket. Looked so comfortable, played within himself really. Special performance from Tim also, he led the attack beautifully, he does often, and guys complemented him well. We had to be patient on this pitch, and we got rewards for that. Trent Boult has just arrived, he's looking to start bowling and get back in action soon.
Joe Root: "We set out to try and lay a platform and hopefully after a period of time weigh things up and see where we could go. Unfortunately we couldn't do that, but ultimately the series is level going into Edgbaston. It was a tricky wicket with a bit of up and down bounce, and we didn't have the time we needed to go after that target. It was the conditions, because we have the talent in the dressing room to get the runs. We were resilient, and we made it hard for them to get us out, and that will give us confidence going into the next Test. It wasn't an easy decision to leave out the spinner when you have someone of Leachy's calibre. We felt we had the best attack to exploit these conditions, and they did that. Rory was phenomenal, for him to come back and carry on the good form he's produced for Surrey, showed a great amount of resilience and character, the mental side of his game came out. It's been tough. Ollie's learned a hard lesson. It's unacceptable what he's done. He's fronted up to the dressing room and the world. We've got to keep looking to learn and educate as much as we can and make the game as diverse as possible. We're not saying the team is perfect, but we're always trying to improve. Not sure [he's available for selection for Edgbaston.]"
Senthil: "Speaking of two-Test series, when was the last time NZ played a 5 test series?" -- New Zealand have only played five five-Test series in their history, the last in 1971-71 in the West Indies.
Alex: "For all the criticism of England, New Zealand haven't gone for a win either? No attacking fields? Lots of balls outside off. Not only England playing conservatively..." -- I think New Zealand sort of stepped off the pedal after Sibley and Root got a partnership going. You can understand that given the need for workload management and the fact that the next Test begins in four days' time.
7.05pm That is it. Kane Williamson has offered the draw and they are shaking hands. And with that, Varun has left me the arduous task of bringing you the presentation ceremony etc.
An intriguing Test match, all things considered. This was a result pitch for sure if the third day hadn't been washed out completely. I thought it was a well-timed declaration from New Zealand, and they bowled extremely well too, but Dom Sibley has played a superb defensive innings to steer England to safety. Rory Burns did his bit as well, to make sure England didn't lose wickets to the new ball.
Johnny C: "Don't know if batting like this wins test matches but it keeps you in the series. Pretty tricky winning a two test series if you lose the first one."
Also, what is the record for the most men out for 1 in a Test?
Ollie Robinson made a big entry too, his seven wickets at Lord's taking him to 69th among bowlers
Jack Leach in line for recall as England fined 40% of match fees for slow over-rate
Day five of the first Test was such a contrast to the last time England and New Zealand had played at Lord's - in the 2019 World Cup final
The visitors made a very positive declaration on the final day but the pitch did not deteriorate as expected