‘Want guys to express themselves in tough conditions’ – Ben Stokes after England’s Wellington triumph

‘Want guys to express themselves in tough conditions’ – Ben Stokes after England’s Wellington triumph .(Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

England picked up a comfortable 323-run victory over New Zealand in the second Test at Basin Reserve in Wellington. They had a turbulent start, having been reduced to 43/4 in the first innings but Harry Brook played a scintillating knock of 123 runs as England posted 280 in the first innings. Ollie Pope supported him well, scoring 66.

New Zealand batters failed to make a mark, being bundled out for 125 runs. In the third innings, the England batters once again played some brilliant cricket as Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell scored 92 and 96 respectively. Later, Joe Root registered his 36th Test century while Brook and Ben Stokes made 55 and 49 runs respectively as England set a massive target of 583 runs.

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New Zealand’s top order collapsed again and it was only Tom Blundell who put up some fight in the middle. The keeper-batter made 106 runs, while others struggled as England got the job done. Stokes picked up three wickets for five runs while Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Shoaib Bashir clinched two each.

After the game, Stokes noted that England managed to secure a healthy lead in the first innings thanks to Brook. He mentioned the team management wants players to express themselves in tough conditions and was happy with how Bethell faired in the second innings. The 33-year-old also lauded the bowlers for their exceptional show in Wellington.

“Because of him (Brook) we got such a big lead. We want guys to express themselves in tough conditions. Bethell has certainly shown us and the world what he is about. 560 runs are a lot of runs, there’s always going to be pressure on NZ to chase it down,” Stokes said in the post-match presentation.

“Bowling performance by our guys was exceptional. Carse and Atkinson took those five wickets quickly. To keep bowling and bowling after NZ’s approach, shows his (Bashir’s) character. He had a smile on his face (despite NZ’s aggressive approach.) Woakes’ spell was incredible as he had to bowl into the wind. That was a lot of hard work. We got one more game left, so didn’t want to risk anybody,” he added.

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