Horne hits the perfect note

Matthew Horne followed the well-trodden path of many a visiting player by lifting his performance to leave England facing the possibility of yet another defeat at the home of cricket.

The New Zealand opener demonstrated the application, determination and courage which were lacking during England's first innings at Lord's and batted the tourists into a commanding position by the close of the second day of the second Test.

Dismissing England for just 186 - their lowest total against New Zealand at Lord's - after they resumed on 183 for nine, Horne battled his way to 100 as the tourists advanced to a 56-run lead on 242 for six.

His innings was never going to have another packed Lord's crowd on the edge of their seats for its flair and flamboyance, but it was exactly the sort of performance required in that situation and exactly the "proper Test match batting" that Hussain had demanded from England.

Exploiting perfect batting conditions in the brilliant sunshine, Horne battled for five and a half hours to reach three figures to emulate the recent achievements of Michael Slater, Matthew Elliott and Saurav Ganguly by scoring a century on their maiden Lord's Test appearance.

Batting cautiously but almost without a false stroke, his determination was in stark contrast to the indiscipline of England's line-up and leaves Hussain's side facing an enormous task to prevent adding to their miserable Lord's record of just three victories in their last 14 Tests here.

Chris Cairns had begun the day by ending Hussain's 220-ball innings, having him caught behind by wicketkeeper Adam Parore in the second over of the morning to finish with impressive figures of six for 77.

England knew his efforts would have to be matched if they had a chance of limiting New Zealand to a comparable total, but instead Horne and Matthew Bell batted sensibly to dampen the early enthusiasm from new ball pair Alan Mullally and Andy Caddick.

Instead Dean Headley, a late replacement for Alex Tudor, made the breakthrough when he rapped Bell high on the back pad. That success was followed five balls later when Stephen Fleming edged Mullally behind to Chris Read down the leg-side and at 45 for two, a repeat of Edgbaston's lowscoring Test seemed a likely possibility.

Unlike England's batting display, however, New Zealand did not become apprehensive about their perilous position and with Horne battling hard at one end, it gave Nathan Astle the freedom to play his shots.

Astle clearly enjoyed his attacking brief and helped forge a 50-run partnership with Horne in just 64 balls with the help of some wayward England bowling just after the lunch interval.

The introduction of Phil Tufnell slowed down his scoring rate, but it was the uneven bounce which had threatened all morning that finally led to Astle's demise after he had scored nine boundaries in his rapid 43.

Attempting to fend off Mullally's short delivery which rose sharply, he only succeeded in gloving the ball to Read, a departure which gave England renewed hope of making further inroads and ended the prospect of an exciting final two sessions to the day.

Horne and Astle added 67 off 113 balls, but the arrival of Roger Twose at the crease prompted a change in policy and both batsmen adopted a far more cautious style in a desperate attempt not to hand the advantage back to England.

Both survived painful blows, Horne sustaining a badly-bruised right elbow after being hit by Mullally while Twose was struck on the side of the helmet by Headley and each batsman were given crucial reprieves as England's concentration in the field wavered.

Horne had progressed to 56 when he pulled Caddick and Tufnell pointed an almost apologetic hand at the chance in the deep, only succeeding in deflecting it over the boundary for four.

Twose's chance was more difficult after he pulled Mullally high over mid-wicket and Alec Stewart, who dropped two catches at slip during the Edgbaston Test, ran back but failed to collect.

The former Warwickshire batsman, who had progressed to 42 at that point, added just 10 more runs before Headley ended his defiance when a mistimed pull flew straight to Caddick at mid-on to end a 120-run partnership spanning 43 overs.

Yet the new ball, taken with New Zealand placed strongly on 238 for four just six overs before the close, earned England unexpected late rewards with two late wickets to increase the possibility of limiting the tourists' ultimate lead to a minimum.