An important day in England's development

There have been some historic fifth days of Test cricket this year. In January, India triumphed over Australia at the Gabba for one of their best ever Test match victories. A couple of weeks later, Kyle Mayers' double hundred propelled West Indies to a famous win over Bangladesh at Chattogram. They were both tension filled fifth days of high drama and high quality that will live long in the memories of those who were there and those who were watching from afar.

In contrast, the final day at Lord's probably won't be long remembered. It will most likely fade from memory as quickly as the crowd at Lord's were draining glasses of Champagne in the Sunday sun. As England and New Zealand played out what could be considered a bore draw, there was little of the drama and tension seen at the Gabba and Chattogram earlier this year. But for the home side, it could nonetheless prove to be an important day in their development.

New Zealand had much the better of this Test. They out-batted England in first innings, mainly thanks to Devon Conway's double hundred, and arguably shaded the bowling too, although both attacks were excellent for most of this game. The tourists' burst of fourth wickets on the fourth morning was as good an example as you will see of a champion team hassling an inexperienced batting line-up while Kane Williamson's declaration on the final day was bold and Overall, it was a performance befitting the second ranked team in the world which kept England, a team at a different stage of their development, under pressure for much of the game.

There will be some that argue the home side should have attempted to chase down the 273 Williamson set them to win in 75 overs of play on day five. But that ignores the realities of the pitch, which was slow and displaying signs of uneven bounce, the quality of the New Zealand bowlers who found prodigious movement at times and the fact that to reach the total, England's batsmen would have had to score quicker than either team had previously managed in the match.

"On the surface, it looks like quite a generous one [declaration] in many ways but having played on that wicket for the best part of four days, going into it we knew it was going to be not as straightforward as it as it looked," Root said after the game.

Although England's captain said the decision not to go for the win was down to conditions, another consideration that no doubt played a part was that his team is missing a number of first choice players, including Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, which gave the batting line-up an inexperienced hue. That was apparent in the frenetic display of their first innings during which four of England's batsmen registered ducks. Those players were hardly bubbling over with confidence.

Then there is the wider context around this series. Earlier this year, England lost the last three Tests in India heavily and took quite a hit to their confidence. Why would they want to risk a fourth defeat in a row? It is also worth remembering that the last two series England have played against New Zealand, they collapsed to defeat in the first Tests and lost both series as a result. At least this way, they will go to Edgbaston with a chance of winning the series.

Rather than seeing England's decision to see the game out as a negative decision, the way they calmly saw themselves to safety on the final afternoon was actually a positive way to end the game. The doubts that may have arisen after the first innings batting were somewhat soothed in the calm way the danger of New Zealand's bowlers, hunting an unlikely victory, was overcome on Sunday afternoon. It also continued the resilience England had showed in the final two sessions of the fourth day with their lower order batting and wholehearted bowling.

Of course, they would have preferred not to have conceded a 103-run first innings lead - and there is little doubt that the batting line-up remains vulnerable - but to emerge from the game with a draw, after being under pressure for large swathes of the Test, showed impressive resilience. Given the lack of that characteristic during the final three matches in India, it was important for the team to display some fortitude in this Test. There was, at least, plenty of that on day five.

Throughout the game, England had their moments. Rory Burns' fine hundred in the first innings kept New Zealand's bowlers at bay during their day four surge while Dom Sibley's glacial paced, unbeaten vigil in the second innings was similarly unmovable on day five. Both openers had come into this game under pressure, with Burns having been dropped in India and Sibley enduring a run of low scores, so will feel better about their lot on the two hour drive up to Birmingham on Monday.

Given the emergence on the opening day of racist and sexist tweets he sent as a teenager, Ollie Robinson will not be feeling anywhere near as good. He will not play in the second Test at Edgbaston after being suspended pending the outcome of an ECB investigation. On the field, he was excellent with bat and ball on his debut, picking up seven wickets in all and looking every inch the Test cricketer. He will certainly add more depth to England's squad if or when he returns to international cricket.

The figures of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who took three wickets between them, may suggest a poor game but they bowled well, particularly during a masterclass in seam and swing bowling at the start of New Zealand's second innings. On another day, they could have had a hatful of wickets. Mark Wood's three-wicket spell on the second day changed the course of the game and was a timely reminder of the pace and variation he brings to England's attack.

The major disappointment was the batting in England's first innings when they were reduced to 140 for 6. After the game, Root said he felt his players had been too loose in that innings and no doubt he was thinking of the shots played by Zak Crawley, Dan Lawrence and, perhaps, James Bracey. New Zealand's bowlers found movement and set some of England's batsmen up beautifully, but the pitch was good and the weather fair at that stage of the game. England's 275 was under-par.

The final day at Lord's may not have had the drama or tension of those at the Gabba or Chattogram earlier this year, but England won't be too concerned by that. A draw against a fine New Zealand side is a creditable result to start the Test match summer, particularly when you consider the quality of the players England are missing and what happened in India. Not every Test match is an epic. Not every Test can be won. Sometimes, you simply have to do what you need to do to fight another day.

That was what England did in this Test. As a result, they can still win the series at Edgbaston next week.