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Ben Stokes he praised his side’s “incredible courage” after England typed New Zealand Wellington to get a late series win on the road.
Less than two years after a harrowing one-run defeat at Basin Reserve, England returned to the scene to bowl out the Black Caps by a huge margin of 323 in the second Test.
At 2-0 with one to play Hamilton next week, Stokes’ men are back and away from home after losing two and drawing one of their three overseas assignments in the last two years.
And while the scoreboard suggests it was a walk in the park, things looked very different when England were 43 for four in the first hour of the match.
In the face of adversity, they made a stunning turnaround. Man of the Match Harry Brook summoned a brilliant 123, Gus Atkinson scored England’s first Test hat-trick in seven years and Joe Root he dismissed his sixth century in 2024 as the milestones continued to roll.
“From 40 for four on the first day, to be here on the winning side halfway through the third day is pretty special,” Stokes said, pointing to the 174 between Brooke and Ollie Pope as the turning point.
“We played dominant cricket. There was a great example on the first day from Harry and Ollie, they played with incredible courage and backed up their own ability, but you have to have the skill to play like those two.
“In cricketing terms, that pitch was what we call a pack of snakes… it worked a lot. Brooky is simply awesome. Nobody has the right to go out and score 120 on that wicket, against the attack that New Zealand has. There are only a few players in the world who could go out and play like him and I’m glad he’s in our team.”
The win, England’s first in this country since 2008, was Stokes’ 19th as England captain in his 31st cap. That pushes him ahead of the revered Mike Brearley in terms of winning percentage, with the 1981 Ashes mastermind winning 18 of his 31 games in charge.
You have a young lad with so much potential and so much talent, why not let him come out and expose himself to Test cricket at its most difficult stage?
Ben Stokes on Jacob Bethell
Asked to revel in that particular stat, Stokes offered a one-word response: “Sweet.”
He was happier to deflect praise from his players, particularly pleased with the efforts of 21-year-old Jacob Bethell. After hitting 50 not out to seal victory in Christchurch, he scored 96 to fall desperately short of his maiden century in professional cricket.
There was some skepticism about his promotion to such a key position given his slender CV, but Stokes felt fully vindicated.
“I know Beth batted a bit at three because of her inexperience and lack of first-class cricket,” he said.
“It was ‘should we lower him with the bat and ease him into the trials and tribulations of Test cricket?’. But me and Baz (coach Brendon McCullum) don’t think so. You have a young lad with so much potential and so much talent, why not let him come out and expose himself to Test cricket at its most difficult stage?
“As a young lad I was devastated for him not to get three figures. I went in and said to him, ‘It’s only four runs, isn’t it?’ and his reply was ‘Yes, but it would have been great if I had pushed it through the cover to mention it.’ It’s class. I think he proved a lot to a lot of people.”
Stokes also marveled at the audacity of Root, who brought up his 36th Test hundred with a reverse ramp over the wicketkeeper off pace bowler Will O’Rourke.
“I thought it was amazing … to catch a 6-foot-9-inch rocket-throwing giant. It worked out and it was great,” he said.
England’s early win gives them a few more days off before they travel to Hamilton, looking to sign off the year 3-0.