After securing a win inside three days in a howling gale, the series victory against New Zealand also claimed with a Test match to spare, Ben Stokes was himself blown away. “Quite phenomenal,” was the England captain’s reaction to the 323-run scoreline, not least after losing four wickets on the first morning of the match.
What followed from Stokes was a deluge of praise for his players, including Harry Brook for a game-changing 123 in the first innings and Gus Atkinson for continuing a remarkable first year of Test cricket with a hat-trick. But Stokes was also happy to give himself and the head coach, Brendon McCullum, a pat on the back for thrusting young Jacob Bethell into the No 3 spot and watching him flourish.
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Bethell fell four short of a maiden Test century in England’s punishing second innings but, nervous 90s aside, the 21-year-old has looked unfazed so far. And in a rare admission that he hears outside opinions, Stokes outlined why, in his mind, slotting a kid without a professional century into the role of first drop was not a risk.
Stokes said: “I know there was a bit made of Beth at No 3 given the lack of first-class cricket batting up the top of the order: should we [instead] bat him lower down and ease him into the trials and tribulations of Test cricket? But me and Baz [McCullum] don’t think like that. You’ve got a young lad with so much potential and talent, why not let him go out there and expose himself to Test cricket at its toughest?
“If it hadn’t gone well for him, that wouldn’t have changed our perception of him as a player. I was devastated for him to not get that three figures. But I walked in and I said to him: ‘It’s only four runs, isn’t it?’ And his response was: ‘Yeah, but it would have been flair if I smacked that through the covers to bring it up.’ That is class. I think he’s proved a lot to a lot of people and proved why we rate him so highly.”
Brook and Ollie Pope, who made 66 in England’s first-innings 280, were singled out by Stokes for their “bravery” in pushing back against New Zealand’s bright start; the pair embodying their captain’s mantra that pressure, while needing to be absorbed at times, must be put back on opponents at the earliest opportunity. Brook was particularly calculated in his approach, dancing down the quicks to smash them off their lengths.
“New Zealand have got some incredibly skilful bowlers,” Stokes said. “And for him to play like that was just exceptional. There are only a few players in the world who could go out and play like he did on day one. I’m glad he’s in our team. And I’m just very proud of the way that we’ve gone out there and backed our ability.”
Another to do so was Joe Root. While his second-innings 106 was admittedly one of his more frictionless Test centuries – the totaliser now sits at 36 – the former captain brought up the milestones with a pancake-flip reserve scoop off Will O’Rourke. It may have only been gloved for four but Stokes, 49 not out when he declared, was left chuckling at the audacity.
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Stokes said: “He had a man down [at fine leg] all morning, then New Zealand brought him up and he thought it a good idea to scoop a 6ft 9in [6ft 5in] giant who was bowling rockets. It was awesome. Joe is desperate to do well for this team, he knows how important he is, and when he does well we generally do too. When he doesn’t score runs, he almost feels he’s let everyone down because he’s that good.”
Tom Latham, leading a New Zealand side that have now lost six and won one against the so-called “Bazball” England team, said: “It’s just pressure that they are able to put you under, especially with the bat. The way Harry Brook played was outstanding.”
Asked if the remarkable 3-0 win in India that came before this series took more out of his side than they realised, Latham replied: “I don’t think so. We came into this series with high hopes. We know we haven’t been at our best but credit to England, they have played fantastically. We will keep showing those Kiwi characteristics and keep fighting. It does hurt but we will reflect and move forward.”
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