England players are seen wearing black armbands on the first day of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s as a special tribute to former cricketers who died after the team’s last home international.Before the start of the game on Thursday, a moment of silence was observed before the national anthems, with players from both sides paying their respects. Black armbands were worn in memory of many former England cricketers including Kane Shuttleworth, John Jameson, Barry Knight, Robin Smith, Hugh Morris, Norman Gifford, Eric Russell, Tony Piggott and MJK Smith.An emotional pre-match ceremony paid tribute to New Zealand legend Martin Crowe on 10 years since his death. Crowe is one of New Zealand’s most influential figures. Cricket History, and the multitudes of Lords, warmly acknowledge his legacy. His daughter Emma Crowe rang the traditional five-minute bell before the start of the Test and received applause around the ground.At the end of the commemorations, the focus turned to cricket as New Zealand captain Tom Latham won the toss and elected to bowl in partly cloudy conditions.The visitors unveiled a formidable pace attack led by Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke. Jamieson and O’Rourke, both towering pacemen who stand at least 1.97m tall, are playing together in a Test for the first time after overcoming long-term back injuries. Nathan Smith, who took an impressive eight wickets against Ireland in the recent warm-up match, completes the seven-heavy attack while Glenn Phillips is preferred over Mitchell Santner.England debut Emilio Gay, the Durham opener who recently represented Italy in T20 Internationals. The hosts also recalled Ollie Robinson, whose last Test came in 2024. Robinson added captain Ben Stokes, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tong in the pace department.The Lord’s Test is England’s first red-ball dismissal since the 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia earlier this year, adding extra significance to the series opener.
