England suffered a dramatic early setback right at the start of the fourth day of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's when captain Joe Root was dismissed by the first ball of Saturday's play.

After Friday's third day was completely washed out, Root fell for his overnight 42 when he edged a superb delivery from towering paceman Kyle Jamieson that angled in and straightened to Ross Taylor at first slip. 

The on-field umpires called for a review to confirm the low chance had carried but Root was already two-thirds of the way back to the pavilion when his dismissal was confirmed.

His exit left England 111-3, still 267 runs behind New Zealand's first innings 378 built on debutant Devon Conway's extraordinary 200 -- the highest score by any batsman making their Test bow in England.

There was applause for both Jamieson and Root from a crowd of some 6,500 in a match that marks the return of spectators to international cricket in England after last season's matches were played behind closed doors because of coronavirus restrictions.

Root shared a third-wicket partnership of 93 with opener Rory Burns that helped England recover from 18-2.

But with a minimum of 98 overs, rather than a standard 90, scheduled for Saturday to help compensate for Friday's lack of action, there was still plenty of time left for New Zealand to make further inroads.

This is the first of a two-Test series, with New Zealand, second in the standings, then remaining in England to face top-ranked India in the inaugural World Test Championship final at Hampshire's Ageas Bowl headquarters starting on June 18.