Cricket news: Brendon McCullum lauds Emilio Gay as England sink NZ at Lord’s

England coach Brendon McCullum admits he was ‘incredibly impressed’ with young opener Emilio Gay, who played a vital role in the 115-run win over New Zealand at Lord’s.

England were aiming to hit the reset button for the Test match summer after a torrid time in the Ashes mauling by Australia over the winter.

And things were looking grim when they were put into bat by the Kiwis, who skittled England for 140 all out in 39.4 overs in their first innings.

Harry Brook posted the only score worthy of mention (56 off 71 balls), while seamers Kyle Jamieson (5-62) and Nathan Smith (3-38) thrived on a bowler-friendly pitch.

England’s struggles with the bat were then put into perspective when New Zealand tumbled to 113 all out in 29.5 overs in their first innings.

Robinson on a roll

Returning seamer Ollie Robinson (5-39) ripped through the Kiwis’ batting order and was ably supported by paceman Josh Tongue (3-40).

Kyle Jamieson (38no) and Glenn Phillips (34) ensured the visitors got within touching distance of England’s first-innings total.

Then opener Gay, in for the dropped Zak Crawley, settled the nerves alongside Ben Duckett, with the two scoring 57 and 33 respectively.

Jamie Smith also chipped in with 39 important second-innings runs and helped England to a total of 226 all out in 56 overs, with Nathan Smith (6-70) impressing for the Kiwis.

That left New Zealand with a victory target of 254, but they slumped to 138 all out in 40.3 overs in their second innings.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: World Cup 2026 news: Smells like team spirit, says England manager Thomas Tuchel

Too hot to handle

Glenn Phillips (44no) and Devon Conway (41) gave the Kiwis some hope – but the seam attack of Gus Atkinson (5-30), Robinson (2-38) and Tongue (2-48) proved too hot to handle and ensured England went 1-0 up in the three-Test series.

McCullum poured praise on the performance of left-handed debutant Gay (57 from 95 balls), telling Sky Sports: “I was super impressed. I felt like a week ago things were spinning a bit for Emilio – the initial step into the England set-up.

“Concerned is not the right word – it was more like, ‘right, you just have a little bit of work to do to calm him down a little bit so that he is ready to go’.

“But, over the course of that week, he really drilled down on his preparation, which is vital for him to feel he is able to go out and operate the way he wants to.

Slowly settled

“He became calmer and calmer the closer he got to the start line. He slowly settled himself and realised he didn’t have to be anyone else.

“He is a pretty emotional guy and it is pretty hard to suppress those emotions and handle the extra stuff you have to when you come up to international cricket and do it straight away.

“I was a) incredibly impressed with how he played in difficult conditions – that fifty is worth a lot more than what it probably reads on the scorecard – but b) by the calm he operated with. 

“It is rare to see that when you step up to this level.

“I am sure he has many more Test runs ahead of him. He will have grown immensely from the week’s work. He has moulded brilliantly into the group.”

Belief in Stokes

England captain Ben Stokes struggled with the bat once again – being dismissed for 12 and nought at Lord’s.

Stokes dropped from number six to number seven in the batting order, with wicketkeeper Smith moving above the skipper, who has only scored one Test century since the 2023 summer.

McCullum added: “Stokesy hasn’t got the runs he has wanted of late but I am confident in the work he has been doing. I feel he is moving a lot better.

“Sometimes when you don’t play a lot of cricket, and we are all guilty of it, you can, in the pursuit of improvement, become a bit rigid or robotic. That’s just what cricketers do.

“I feel that his fluency is starting to come back. 

“It would have been great if he had got instant gratification with runs in this Test but I am confident we will see output in the Tests to come, some decent positives. 

Not too far away

“You never know but I feel he is not too far away.

“Number seven is quite a nice role for him. With his experience and cricketing nous, he is able to guide the tail quite nicely. 

“Plus he has the raw power if needs be to try and score if you are eight or nine wickets down. 

“He still has the opportunity to bat with a batter as well.”

The second Test between England and New Zealand will take place at The Kia Oval on Wednesday, June 17.

READ NEXT: Monaco GP Winners and Losers: Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and more