MOUNT MAUNGANUI: England captain Ben Stokes fired an Ashes warning to Australia after crushing New Zealand by 267 runs in the first Test at Mount Maunganui on Sunday, saying his team has got more firepower on the way.
England made it 10 wins from 11 Tests since Stokes was handed the captaincy and Brendon McCullum the coaching reins last year, introducing an attacking revolution that again proved decisive in the day-night Test at the Bay Oval.
Having used aggression and clever pink-ball tactics to get the upper hand, England closed out victory in the first session of day four, dismissing New Zealand for 126 after they resumed at 63-5.
Veteran pace duo Stuart Broad and James Anderson both finished with four second innings wickets as England notched a first win on New Zealand soil in 15 years and took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
Broad (4-49) was a menace on Saturday night under lights when he tore through New Zealand’s top order, with all four wickets clean bowled to reduce them to 28-5 in pursuit of 394 for victory.
Long-time new ball partner James Anderson (4-18) became the chief tormentor on Sunday, knocking over four tailenders as New Zealand added 63 more runs in 22.3 overs.
Only Daryl Mitchell, unbeaten on 57, put up any resistance after resuming his innings on 13, striking two sixes on his way to a sixth Test half-century.
England tactically dominated the game, batting aggressively and deliberately timing the end of both their innings so New Zealand had to face a new pink ball in lively seam conditions under lights on days one and three.
The visitors will be favourites to beat the struggling Black Caps in the second Test in Wellington before turning their attention to the showdown with Australia in England’s summer.
Stokes suggested he was already excited at the prospect of unleashing England’s fearless approach when they bid to reclaim the Ashes.
‘Selection nightmare’
The captain said depth had become an England strength, naming three injured players — batsman Jonny Bairstow and pace bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood — among a group who will be applying pressure on the current squad.
“It’s probably going to end up being a selection nightmare at some point but you’d much rather have that,” Stokes said.
“It’s a great thing to be thinking about going forward — the amount of world class players that we’ve got, not only here at the moment but also sat at home, recovering from injuries or whatever it may be.
“I don’t like to look too far ahead but I think it will be a good crop of players to be able to choose from when we come to the Ashes.”
Stokes said their attack-first approach, dubbed “Bazball”, was working because the players had brought into it unequivocally and had the ability to execute.
“Not only have I got an unbelievable bowling attack to be able to captain, I’ve also got a seriously skilled and very brave batting line-up to look at and watch them express themselves,” Stokes said.
“They’ve got to take a lot of credit for the record I’ve had so far as a captain.
“If we keep playing the way in which we’re playing and we’re executing the things that we want to do well then we’re going to be giving ourselves an opportunity to win.”
“We’re just always looking to put oppositions under pressure.”
New Zealand captain Tim Southee conceded England had outplayed his team but didn’t think the margin between the sides was reflected in the result.
He welcomed the return to traditional red ball cricket at the Basin Reserve, starting on Friday.
“I don’t know if gulf is the right word, I think England strategically played it pretty well,” Southee said
“You look back to day one, the way that they scored allowed them to set up the match from there by declaring at the difficult time under lights.
“The end result is big, but it could have been slightly different so you reassess and you move forward to a traditional Test match at a ground we enjoy playing at.”
The home side are set to regain the services of seam bowler Matt Henry, who was unavailable for the series opener to attend the birth of his child.
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