‘Pretty blessed to be in charge’ - Ben Stokes lavishes praise on bowling unit after emphatic 267-run win against New Zealand

Courtesy of an impressive bowling performance by the English side, Ben Stokes and Co. registered an emphatic 267-run win against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui. Taking a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series, England skipper Ben Stokes expressed his delight to be ‘in charge’ of the bowling attack led by the lethal seam pairing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. 

The pace duo ripped the guts out of the Kiwi batting line-up in the final innings restricting the side to a meagre 126 runs. Anderson and Broad racked up four wickets each as the BlackCaps went from 63 for five to 126 all-out in quick time while chasing a mammoth 394 runs in the final innings. Delighted with a rousing 267-run victory, Stokes lavished praise on the bowling unit and added that he was ‘blessed’ to be leading the pack.

"It's tough for anyone when Jimmy (James Anderson) and Broady (Stuart Broad) get that new ball talking like they did. I'm pretty blessed to be able to be in charge of this bowling group at the moment. But when you're out in the field, the idea is to take 10 wickets and that's what we've got to try and do. We've got an ethos with the bat, but also with the ball. It's about taking 10 wickets, and not worrying too much about how he runs they go for,” told Stokes during the post-match presentation.

Executed well under the lights: Ben Stokes

Amid the run chase, Stokes also added that the pace bowling department got vital breakthroughs in the twilight of the day/night Test wherein the pink ball offers more assistance. 

"It was another great performance. We were very clinical with the bat and obviously very clinical with the ball. You look at the bowling attack that we've got, with this pink ball especially under lights, we executed everything as well as we wanted to. When you got the likes of Broad and Jimmy in your bowling attack, it's always going to be tough for any opposition with the bat in hand,” added the skipper. 

Notably, Anderson and Broad have now taken 1004 wickets between them as they surpassed the long-standing record that was held by Australia greats Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne (1001).