NZ vs ENG 2024: Ben Stokes shares injury update after eight-wicket win in Christchurch

Ben Stokes.(Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

England picked up an eight-wicket win over New Zealand in the first Test in Christchurch. The Ben Stokes-led side batted brilliantly as Harry Brook made 171 runs, while Ollie Pope and the captain scored a half-century each to take a 151-run lead in the first innings. Brydon Carse was phenomenal with the ball in the third innings as the pacer clinched six and the hosts were bundled for 254 runs. England chased it down with ease as youngster Jacob Bethell scored a half-century.

Meanwhile, Stokes hurt his back during the first Test. He was out with a hamstring injury earlier in the year when the all-rounder missed the series against Sri Lanka and later the first Test against Pakistan. Against New Zealand, he limped off the ground after bowling 19.3 overs across innings. After the game, the all-rounder noted that he was doing fine and expects to recover before the second Test. The 33-year-old also talked about his batting and the 159-run partnership with Brook.

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“I found myself in a tricky place, put in a partnership with Brook, and the way the tail played, we have a pretty long batter order and it worked nicely. I hurt my back, but it was more about managing, and I had a heavy workload with 20 overs. But I’m fine and should be good to go for the second game. We’ll decide upon the team combination ahead of the next game,” Stokes said in the post-match presentation.

Tom Latham opens up on missing chances, poor partnerships

New Zealand had a good start to the game, scoring 348 runs in the first innings. In the second, they dropped eight catches and that helped the visitors take a massive lead in the contest. Speaking on the same, captain Tom Latham stated that it happens sometimes but he hoped the players to put up a better show in the second Test. He also wants batters to build bigger partnerships to challenge quality England bowlers.

“We were pretty happy with our position (1st innings), we had our opportunities. Another day all the catches would’ve gone to hand, guys were not meaning to drop catches. Happens sometimes, that’s cricket. Hopefully, we can do better next time. You always want more, had to build some partnerships. We had some but would be nice to extend them. They have some quality players who put you under pressure,” Latham said.

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