England captain Ben Stokes played down any injury concerns and insisted he was “raring to go” for the second Test against New Zealand after pulling up while bowling during the tourists’ win in the series opener.
Stokes withdrew himself from the attack on the fourth and final morning in Christchurch but stayed on the field and said at the post-match presentation that he was just managing his body having tweaked his back while fielding.
The captain suffered a hamstring injury while batting in The Hundred this summer and subsequently missed the three-Test series at home to Sri Lanka as well the first of three games in Pakistan.
Stokes scored 80 during England’s eight-wicket win at Hagley Oval
Stokes, who scored 80 from the No 7 spot against New Zealand, said ahead of Friday’s second fixture in Wellington: “It has been a pretty heavy week this week – a lot of time in the field, I bowled 20 overs and spent time out on the middle with the bat as well.
“I hurt my back diving for a ball so it was management more than anything else. Where we were in the game, I didn’t feel it necessary to eke out any more balls.
“I think the body is going to be good for this outing and I am raring to go for Wellington.”
Stokes: Brook going from strength to strength
Stokes’ knock, during which he was dropped on 30 by opposition skipper Tim Southee, was his highest Test score since the 2023 Ashes and he looked more fluent than he did while averaging 13.25 in Pakistan in October.
Harry Brook scored 171 in the series opener after being dropped five times
The skipper put on 159 with Harry Brook (171) – who was dropped five times by New Zealand – for England’s sixth wicket at Hagley Oval before adding 63 and 40 with Gus Atkinson (48 off 36) and Brydon Carse (33no off 24) respectively as the tourists rallied from 71-4 to 499 all out in their first innings.
Stokes added: “It was good. With Gus and Carsey coming in and batting like that, I was giving them the strike and thinking ‘I should be doing that role!’
“We found ourselves in a tricky place and I just tried to build a partnership with Brooky to make sure we got up to a good total.
On Brook, who became the second-fastest Englishman to 2,000 Test runs, reaching the milestone in 36 innings, and averages over 60 across his first 22 matches, Stokes added: “When the opposition are dropping catches left, right and centre you do want to go on and make that big score.
Brook has struck seven centuries in his first 22 Tests
“Brooky is an incredible player, an incredible talent. To have someone with his ability in our middle order is outstanding.
“He is constantly looking to put the pressure on the bowlers and is going from strength to strength.”
‘Carse is a workhorse’
Carse’s batting was sandwiched by him taking four first-innings wickets and then six in the second as he became the first England bowler to bag a 10-wicket match haul overseas since spinner Monty Panesar in 2012 and first seamer since Ryan Sidebottom in New Zealand 16 years ago.
“I also thought our bowlers were pretty relentless, so it was a very good start,” said Stokes.
“I have grown up with Brydon [Carse] in our Durham days and known his potential and talent so to see him make such an impact is amazing.
“He is a workhorse and will charge in all day regardless of whether the conditions are in his favour or not.”
Player of the Match Carse, who now has 19 wickets in three Tests, said: “The surfaces in Pakistan were obviously very different to this. There is a lot more carry and bounce here which suited my style of bowling more.
“I am very happy with my personal performance and very proud of the outcome. To be able to win as a team is very satisfying.
“We were thrown different challenges throughout the game but stuck to certain plans and got our rewards.”