England have returned to New Zealand for the first time since early 2023 to kick off a three match test series against Tom Latham’s Black Caps, and they did so in style.
The pitch in Christchurch was touted as a green top in the lead up to the match, promising to give both side’s seamers a big advantage. It was no surprise then that Ben Stokes opted to bowl first after winning the toss on day one.
The Black Caps put 348 runs on the board in their first innings with a returning Kane Williamson scoring 93 to help them rebuild after a difficult start. For all the talk of seamers however, it was Somerset off-spinner Shoaib Bashir that stood out taking four wickets.
England then returned fire on day two and three with Harry Brook hitting a breathtaking 171 after England lost three wickets early on. Important cameos also came from Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes, and late order hitters Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse. Much of this came down to New Zealand’s sloppiness in the field dropping eight catches.
Much of this came down to New Zealand’s sloppiness in the field dropping eight catches.
Carse doubled down on his brilliance in the third innings taking 6-42, adding to his four first innings wickets to become the first English player to take a 10-fer away from home since Ryan Sidebottom in 2008.
Carse has helped prove that there is life after Broad and Anderson with his versatility making him a key asset ahead of next year’s Ashes down under. In his brief test career, he has already been used as an enforcer, often bowling short balls in Pakistan, and as a reliable wicket-taker.
England then put the game to bed with the help of a dynamic 50 from debutant Jacob Bethell.
Christchurch saw a move down the order for England Vice-Captain Ollie Pope, as he moved down to bat at six whilst also keeping wicket. He did make an impressive 77 from 98 deliveries batting alongside Brook for around 30 overs.
We also saw a return to form for skipper Ben Stokes as he came away with a first innings total of 80. It was however a slow half-century by his standards, with his total coming from 146 deliveries.
Stokes also took aim at the ICC on his Instagram story after the match, as both teams were docked points from the World Test Championship for a slow over-rate. Stokes commented, ‘Good on you ICC. Finished the game with 10 hours of play still left’.
Over-rate rate refers to the speed at which a team bowls their overs. The expectation is that around 90 overs will be bowled each day. The Christchurch test saw 83, 82, and 78 overs bowled on day one, two, and three respectively.
England’s win in this test puts them 1-0 up in this three-test series as they hope to seek revenge for their last tour of New Zealand in early 2023. That two match series famously ended 1-1 after the Kiwis won the second test by only one run.