England vs New Zealand: Ollie Robinson takes hosts closer to first Test win on rain-affected third day

Given the dire nature of the weather forecast, even the small amount of play that was possible on Saturday could be seen as a bonus.

Maybe something else could have happened. Lord’s was dry and ready during an early lunch taken at 12:20 BST before play began at 13:00.

The players yo-yoed on and off the field for the next 70 minutes, with two delays before the weather called the final at 14:10.

Just as he took 5-39 in the first innings, Robinson reveled in the conditions for two more years in his first Test. Damp conditions under floodlights added to the difficulty of batting on a surface that was uneven for much of this match.

After New Zealand resumed at 37-3, Ravindra and Mitchell were the most likely to dig in among the rest of their batsmen and make England’s job more difficult. Robinson dealt with both of them.

Left-hander Ravindra was undone by a beauty. Robinson, from round the wicket, edged the ball into the corner, then lifted it off the surface and into the Lord’s shield. It beats Ravindra’s defensive stroke and kisses the off stump. Almost unplayable.

Kane Williamson’s successor as New Zealand’s leading batsman, Ravindra, has had a grueling Test. Batting returns of notches and eights added up with two bad drops, which mattered in the context of a low-scoring match.

With conditions in their favor and time on the field short, England packed the bat with seven close catchers.

And Mitchell’s wicket went against England’s ruling theory that a certain style of cricket could not succeed in the Test arena.

“That 75mph, the keeper up, that’s dabbing over a length – we know that doesn’t work in Test cricket, wherever you are,” was once the view of England’s director of cricket, Rob Key.

Robinson hit Mitchell on the pads after a ball came up to stumps by England keeper Jamie Smith. Review couldn’t save Mitchell, frustrated by the ball and shaving the leg stump – another umpire’s call against the Black Caps in this match.

After two overs, the weather made a terminal intervention, abandoning the day at 17:30.