The two men with responsibility thrust upon them in Michael Vaughan's absence responded with an emphatic opening stand against New Zealand at Lord's. Marcus Trescothick and century-maker Andrew Strauss, fill-in captain and opener respectively after Vaughan twisted his right knee in practice this week, stamped their marks on the three-match npower Test series with measured contributions as England closed on 246 for two, a deficit of 140. Strauss' effort was the first century on debut since current team-mate Graham Thorpe struck an unbeaten 114 against the Australians in 1993. "It has just been an unbelievable day. It is an absolute dream to score a hundred at Lord's on your debut," said Strauss. "Someone up there was just smiling at me, I suppose. When it is your day you have to make sure you make the most of it. "When I was 98 I tried to drive one which was almost a bouncer - which was not great judgement. "But when you see that ball and realise it is going for four (to bring up the hundred) the release of pressure is unbelievable." Trescothick continued his success rate whenever he has been entrusted with the responsibility of filling the captain's boots, as the loss of Vaughan, conspicuous when New Zealand prospered 24 hours earlier, lessened remarkably. By the time Strauss reached three figures, Trescothick had departed for 86 when, tempted to nibble at a delivery from Jacob Oram, bowling around the wicket, he gained a feather-edge behind and the third of England's top-order left-handers Mark Butcher was into his stride with a series of rasping off-side boundaries. Predictably there were some nervous moments for the Middlesex captain, who sliced perilously past the stumps to the fine-leg boundary on 91 and was spilled from a difficult chance low to Jacob Oram in the gully, both off Chris Martin, bowling from the pavilion end. He placed himself in the record books when Martin offered width and was driven unceremoniously through the covers for four; the arms which had whizzed the ball to the boundary punched the evening air in delight. But he ran out of steam a quarter of an hour before the close when left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori found a thick edge which popped into the hands of short leg, off the front pad. Earlier, Chris Cairns' boisterous hour with bat in hand ensured this match will be remembered for another record - a new high for the number of sixes in a Test career-- and tainted an otherwise exceptional day for the hosts. Having equalled Sir Viv Richards' record of 84 sixes by pulling Simon Jones and beefing Steve Harmison over cover, his third maximum of the innings, a pick-up off Andrew Flintoff, set a new target, one which was increased the very next ball by clearing the extra-cover rope. Cairns' cameo spanned just 47 balls and threatened to further derail England's push for control in the contest until another hoik spiralled to fine leg where Harmison took a good running catch. 
A hat-trick of early strikes from Harmison, in his more familiar guise as fast-bowling spearhead, hauled England back into the contest and fellow Caribbean hero Simon Jones weighed in with another as a Black Caps side cantering at 280 for four when, in yesterday's evening gloom, umpire Darrell Hair erroneously adjudged opener Mark Richardson leg before despite a thick inside edge. Durham's Harmison gave Trescothick the perfect start to his second day in charge of a Test when he encouraged Oram to nibble at the ninth ball of the morning, to end an innings of 67 from the lanky left-hander, who faced 82 balls and struck 10 fours. Significantly, it also brought Cairns to the crease and began some of the heftiest hitting ever seen at the home of cricket. Harmison's second early blow, from the nursery end, came from a perfectly-pitched outswinger which knocked out nightwatchman Daryl Tuffey's off-stump. All-rounder Cairns was still in the thick of things, having dominated a partnership of 37 in 35 balls, and it was a willingness to play shots in bowler-friendly conditions which hauled the Kiwis beyond 300. Welshman Jones then did for Brendon McCullum, who aimed a pull at a short-of-a-length ball which cannoned into his stumps. Moments afterwards Harmison cursed his fortune as Vettori played onto his stumps and survived by virtue of the bails staying intact. But it proved brief respite as another thick edge dismantled the timber later in the same over. That was Harmison's fourth success and continued the rich vein of form he displayed in the recent 3-0 win in the West Indies, where he was man-of-the-series. Scoreboard England v New Zealand At: Lord's Overnight: New Zealand 284-5 (M H Richardson 93, J D P Oram 64 no, N J Astle 64). New Zealand First Innings J D P Oram c G O Jones b Harmison67 D R Tuffey b Harmison8 C L Cairns c Harmison b Flintoff82 B B McCullum b S P Jones5 D L Vettori b Harmison2 C S Martin not out 1 Extras (b9 lb6 w2 nb7 pens 0)24 Total (102.4 overs)386 Fall: 1-58 2-161 3-162 4-174 5-280 6-287 7-324 8-329 9-338 Bowling: Hoggard 22 7 68 1; Harmison 31 7 126 4; Flintoff 21.4 7 63 2; S P Jones 23 8 82 3; Giles 5 0 32 0. England First Innings Close M E Trescothick c McCullum b Oram86 A J Strauss c Richardson b Vettori112 M A Butcher not out 22 M J Hoggard not out 0 Extras (b3 lb6 nb17 pens 0)26 Total (2 wkts, 74 overs)246 Fall: 1-190 2-239 To Bat: N Hussain, G P Thorpe, A Flintoff, G O Jones, A F Giles, S P Jones, S J Harmison. Bowling: Tuffey 17 4 48 0; Martin 16 2 65 0; Oram 17 6 34 1; Cairns 12 2 54 0; Vettori 12 1 36 1. | 
