Tell me a better sight in world cricket right now than a slip cordon five deep, those black caps looking like beacons of danger for the opposing batsman. 

There's an Australian vibe to it. The first day of the English summer, the first day of the Lord's test and here we are, the Black Caps, swinging the ball around with full slip cordon while Brendon McCullum patrols the off-side like a wolf. 

There's a 'we're going to get you out and we don't really give a fuck what you try to do' vibe to it. It's fabulous, but there's got to be a period of grinding as well.

It was fabulous for the first hour or so. As expected, our bowlers did a nice job with the new ball, it wasn't the best we've seen them bowl, but they took four early wickets which is pretty much the perfect start to a Test match. Tim Southee got his trademark in-swing to a lefty but also looked dangerous pushing the ball across the likes of Alistair Cook, while Trent Boult did the same, albeit with his left hand. 

It's clear that both these lads can move the ball both ways, well not so much move the ball both ways but they have variety. They can get their natural swing but can then also get the ball going straight with their natural line. When one is swinging into you and the other goes straight on, past your outside edge, it can feel like it's moving a mile.

The pitch was green but if definitely looked pretty good to bat on as the day wore on, which makes the job early on impressive. You've got to take wickets with the new ball early on, regardless of what follow and we did that with Southee picking up debutant Adam Lyth, while Trent Boult bounced Alistair Cook which he then gloved to BJ Watling. Matt Henry took two early wickets on debut as England struggled to rid themselves of their recent dramas.

It was a very patchy bowling display, there were as many over-pitched/too short/too wide/too straight deliveries as there were deliveries that could be described as rippers. 

This guy liked Mark Craig, but Craig and all the bowlers need to show a bit more patience and quality to slow things down and stay in control.

What followed, I haven't really come to a conclusion about yet. Our bowlers, despite taking those early wickets couldn't drop six balls in a similar area all day which then became an issue as the likes of Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Jos Butler got in. The strokes flowed and Root especially was a pleasure to watch.

It would have been nice to see our bowlers not so much keep taking wickets but at least keep the pressure on. It became pretty clear that besides some new ball juice, general swing every so often and natural variation from Mark Craig, that it was a decent pitch to bat on, so understandably the wickets weren't as easy to come by. That's when we need to dot em up, tie em down and play Test cricket.

You could look at this funky preparation perhaps as the reason for this inconsistent day one.

We are definitely not in a terrible position. The late wicket of Butler ensures that we're now into England's bowlers and you would imagine that with the Test cricket cobwebs blown out and the adrenaline settled, we could dismiss England for 400 or at worst 450.

It would take some enthusiasm early on day two, to do that and Brendon McCullum will come out with his guns drawn, Rambo style. Picking up Ali early tomorrow is the key as he's a fine batsmen who is already well established on 49.

So much shit has been said about England, but they are in the reasonable position that they are currently in thanks to their young crew. Root and Stokes made 90's while Butler made a 50 and Ali is holding it down, this is England's foundation for the next few years and it was rather symbolic that they got England back in the game after all that's happened. 

This is Test cricket folks, things change each day, each session and the game is still delicately poised after day one. The Black Caps had their moments, but so did England so who knows how day two will pan out. 

Day Two Mission Objective: Early wickets, especially Ali's wicket. 

Enjoy Ya Dinner: Matt Henry, three wickets on debut, on ya chief.

Daily Thought: Ian Smith is extremely annoying.