New Zealand were bundled out for 132 at Lord's but recovered with the ball. Jamieson impressed with two wickets from his seven-over spell
Kyle Jamieson defended New Zealand’s preparations for the first Test, saying their two warm-up matches that were criticised in some quarters hadn’t contributed to their 132 all out against England at Lord’s.
The tourists asked for the match at Hove to be downgraded from first-class status, annoying many Sussex fans. The weather also hit the first day. A squad match at Chelmsford then resulted in a seven-wicket defeat to a County Select XI.
"We had the two games," said Jamieson. "We had had plenty of time to adjust and adapt. I wouldn’t put anything that happened today down to do our preparations and warm-ups."
That said, New Zealand’s best-looking batsman was Colin de Grandhomme, who made 42 not out. He not only played in both those matches, but also squeezed in three County Championship matches for Surrey. He took seven wickets for the Division One leaders, and made 66 against Kent at Beckenham. "He did look pretty good," Jamieson said, "but you’d have to ask him if that was a factor."
New Zealand performed poorly with the bat [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]
If New Zealand’s batsmen were raw, they soon settled into their work with the ball, however.
Jamieson was superb in his seven-over spell, using the angles of the Lord’s slope to find the edge of Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope’s bats. It’s not difficult to see how he has raced to 68 wickets in only 15 Tests. While Tim Southee struggled initially, he ended the day magnificently, also taking two wickets.
"I felt alright at the start, I’d learnt some lessons from England’s bowling, and I found some nice rhythm. England played some nice shots against Tim, but he was outstanding later on."
Jamieson insisted that the world champions remained calm throughout.
"We knew we were in the game if we bowled well. Things tend to happen really quick here at Lord’s; if you put the balls in good areas we always thought we had a chance.
"We were reasonably calm, even if things were not unfolding how we would have liked them to. We spoke about getting to 130. That doesn’t sound great, but from where we were at, it gave us a chance. We always thought we could get one wicket, then two, build pressure and get ourselves right back in the game."
Jamieson, 27, was batting when the players and crowd paid an emotional tribute to Shane Warne after 23 overs of the match.
"It was good to be out in the middle and be part of that. He’s a legendary name, and I soaked up that moment. I will remember it for a while."