June 8 (Reuters) - England ⁠captain Ben Stokes was critical of the Lord's ⁠pitch in the first test against New Zealand, ‌saying such surfaces do not benefit the longest format of the game.

England defeated New Zealand by 115 runs with a day and ​two sessions to spare in a ⁠rain-interrupted match dominated by ⁠bowlers, as a pitch offering variable and unpredictable bounce made ⁠batting ‌difficult.