Chris Stocks covers England home and away for i and will be in New Zealand for the duration of this tour. Sign up for the free Inside Cricket newsletter here to receive his daily dispatches
1st Test, Day 4: England 499 (Brook 171) & 104-2 (Bethell 50*) beat New Zealand 348 (Williamson 93) & 254 (Carse 6-42) by eight wickets
HAGLEY OVAL — As England wrapped up a dominant eight-wicket victory in the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch, the performance of Brydon Carse shone like a beacon.
Harry Brook’s first-innings 171 and debutant Jacob Bethell’s maiden Test half-century were crucial in securing a win that puts them 1-0 up in this three-match series.
But it was Carse who stole the show, the Durham fast bowler becoming the first England seamer since Ryan Sidebottom in New Zealand 16 years ago to take a 10-wicket haul in an overseas Test.
It says a lot that just three Tests into his career, all played with the Kookaburra ball that will be used in Australia for next winter’s Ashes, he has achieved a feat that neither James Anderson nor Stuart Broad managed in their storied, record-laden careers.
Carse’s return of six for 42 in the Black Caps’ second innings was as impressive as it sounds.
After three Tests he has 19 wickets at an average of 17.10, but it is his pace, ability to trouble opponents with steepling bounce and a relentless engine that sets him apart.
If we’re looking ahead to next year’s Ashes, the 29-year-old’s emergence is a massive plus for England.
Having only made his Test debut in Pakistan in October in conditions that were about as unhelpful for a fast bowler as you can get, he made the most of a bouncy Christchurch pitch to terrorise New Zealand.
It’s not only the way he roughs up batters with short balls but his ability to mix things up by honing in on the stumps at 90 miles per hour that makes him so dangerous. It’s no surprise three of his second-innings wickets were lbw.
The prospect of Carse being unleashed against Australia in next November’s Ashes series opener in Perth is mouthwatering.
Ben Stokes, who tracked Carse’s rise first-hand at Durham, is in no doubt how good England’s newest bowling superstar is.
“I’ve always known the ability he has,” he said. “He was very raw when he first came to Durham but he had natural ability.
“He’s turned out to be the cricketer I always thought he could be.”
It has been a long road for the Port Elizabeth-born player to get to this point. His career was in the balance when he served a three-month ban for historic betting offences last May.
None of the 303 bets he placed between 2017 and 2019 at times when he was injured were on games involving teams he played for. Still, the way he has bounced back since that ban expired on 28 August says a lot about his character.
Stokes, whose own mental health struggles saw him take an extended break from cricket in 2022, said: “I spoke to him a lot and spent a lot of time with him around that ban.
“When those kind of things are coming from someone who knows what it’s like to go through certain stuff it means a bit more. He knows how much I value him as a player.
“The kid has got the heart of a lion and that’s one thing that is so, so impressive about him. Everybody loves him to bits in the dressing room.
“For him to be where he is now, considering where he was four months ago is testament to his character. You can see why we think of him so highly, that he can go through something like that then be here walking off with 10 wickets in a Test match.”
Carse said: “I’ve known Ben for 10 years. To have him captain me is a massive factor – he knows my cricket inside out. It’s a very calming influence on me, letting me play my natural game.
“I’ve always had massive ambitions to play Test cricket and it’s probably taken a bit longer for me to do that but I couldn’t have asked for a better start. Whatever has happened over the last couple of years, this is where I’m at now. It has been a hell of a journey.”
This was Carse’s first five-wicket haul in red-ball cricket for three-and-a-half years – his first-class average of 31.61 is more evidence that county form is not always the best barometer of readiness for Test cricket.
“Apart from Pakistan, hopefully Test wickets in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, England, there is more pace and carry,” he said.
“Sometimes in county cricket it hasn’t suited my bowling and I’ve had to adjust and not bowl to my strengths. To come out and get a 10-fer is very rewarding.”
England’s impressive win in Christchurch was their 21st in 33 games under coach Brendon McCullum and Stokes’ captaincy.
If they can clinch this series in either this week’s second Test in Wellington or the final match in Hamilton, it will be a huge achievement against a team which recently won 3-0 in India and in a country where England have not won a Test series since 2008.
The only worry for the Bazballers was an injury scare that saw Stokes pull out of bowling midway through his 19th over in New Zealand’s second innings: “I just twinged my back diving for a catch on day one,” said Stokes.
“I just thought, do I really need to put myself at risk? It was more of a precaution. I’ll be fine for Wellington.”
'President Musk' is flexing his muscles and revealing how weak Trump is