New Zealand wins toss and bowls first against England in test series opener at Lord's

LONDON (AP) — Captain Tom Latham won the toss and chose to unleash New Zealand's intimidating pace attack against England on a partly cloudy Thursday morning in the test series opener at Lord's.

>New Zealand saved fast bowlers Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Will O'Rourke from the three-day warmup win over Ireland in Belfast last week. Jamieson and O'Rourke, both at least 1.97 meters (6-foot-4) tall, are bowling together in a test for the first time after long-term back injuries.

>Nathan Smith, who took eight Ireland wickets, was the fourth seamer.

>Glenn Phillips also got the nod ahead of Mitchell Santner, who was passed fit quicker than expected after a shoulder injury.

>England is debuting recent Italy Twenty20 international Emilio Gay, the in-form Durham opening batter.

>Uncapped Hampshire pacer Sonny Baker dropped out of the 12 to confirm Gus Atkinson in a seam attack with captain Ben Stokes, Josh Tongue and the recalled Ollie Robinson. Robinson's last test was in 2024.

>It is England's first test since losing the Ashes series 4-1 in Australia in January.

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>Lineups:

>England: Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.

>New Zealand: Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke.

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>AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket