Carse stars as England thrash New Zealand

CHRISTCHURCH:

Brydon Carse took six for 42 before England comfortably chased down their 104-run victory target in the first test against New Zealand on Sunday to win by eight wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Zak Crawley departed for one and his fellow opener Ben Duckett for 27, but Jacob Bethell, who was making his test debut, and Joe Root, playing his 150th, got the visitors across the line before tea on the fourth day of the match.

Bethell scored the winning run with a single to deep square leg to complete his maiden half century in 37 balls, while Root chipped in with 23 runs from 15 deliveries.

Harry Brook, whose 171 in the first innings turned the match decisively in England's favour, remained padded up in the grandstand, his services not required.

The bowling of seamer Carse, who finished with a match haul of 10 wickets in only his third test, had earlier been key as England dismissed New Zealand for 254 to move the brink of victory.

"An amazing couple of days," said Carse, who was named Player of the Match. "To top it off today with getting a 10-fer and winning, an amazing feeling, and I'm very proud.

"We've still got two big games in this series, and we'll see what the surfaces are like going forward."

Daryl Mitchell frustrated England with a defiant 84, but it only delayed the inevitable after sloppy New Zealand fielding, including a flurry of dropped catches, had helped England to a dominant position.

"No one means to drop catches," said Black Caps captain Tom Latham, who was responsible for a couple of them.

"But I guess when you give opportunities to some quality players ... sometimes that can hurt you.

"We weren't quite at our best in this game, but we know how fickle this game can be, and we'll head to Wellington and stay reasonably level."

New Zealand had resumed in a parlous state at 155-6 with a lead of just four runs, and the writing was on the wall when Carse removed Nathan Smith and Matt Henry cheaply in one over to claim his first test five-wicket haul.

Tim Southee, playing his final series, hit his 94th and 95th test sixes to score 12 runs before Joe Root caught him at deep midwicket off the bowling of Gus Atkinson.

There was one concerning moment for England when skipper Ben Stokes pulled up while bowling and handed the ball over to Atkinson to complete the over, although he later confirmed that he would be fit for the second test.

Carse finally got Mitchell out with the help of a catch by Chris Woakes in the deep to give him a first 10-wicket haul after his 4-64 in the first innings.

The series continues with the second test in Wellington starting on Friday and concludes in Hamilton.

Fears over fitness

Ben Stokes eased concerns about his fitness after he captained England to a thumping eight-wicket win over New Zealand in the first Test at Christchurch's Hagley Oval on Sunday.

The all-rounder, who missed four Tests this year with a hamstring tear, pulled up during his seventh over and handed the ball to Gus Atkinson to bowl the last three balls.

Stokes stayed out on the field until the New Zealand innings was completed at lunch, however, and said after the match that he had not wanted to push his body unnecessarily with the match all but won.

"I've not spent that much time out in the middle for a long time," he said at the presentation ceremony.

"It's been a pretty heavy week this week, I bowled 20 overs, spent lot of time in the field, spent some time in the middle and hurt my back diving for a ball as well.

"It's more management than anything else. With where we were in the game, it didn't feel necessary to eke out any more balls than I needed to. I think the body is going to be good for this outing, and I'm raring to go for Wellington."

The second Test starts at Basin Reserve on Friday, and England will head up to the New Zealand capital with a spring in their step after the Christchurch win.