What a player: Ben Stokes hails Joe Root after win over New Zealand in Lord's Test
Jun 05, 2022
London [UK], June 5 : After registering a stunning win against New Zealand in the first Test, England skipper Ben Stokes went on all praise for Joe Root, who smashed a century and completed 10,000 runs in Test cricket.
An unbeaten century from Joe Root and brilliant bowling by debutant Matty Potts helped England beat New Zealand by five wickets here at the Lord's on Sunday. With this win, England has a 1-0 lead in the series.
On being asked about Root, he said, "Scoring a hundred and 10,000 runs - what a player, what a man."
This is England's first win under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum's new leadership.
"Amazing, great Test match always seems to be with England v New Zealand, especially at Lord's. Summer is always special, regardless of captaincy, always a special feeling to start with a win. I really enjoyed the first week working with him (Baz McCullum). We obviously got to a great start and pleased with how everyone operated the last week," said Ben Stokes in a post-match presentation.
"The game ebbed and flowed and no-one really ever had the upper hand at any stage, to chase down 279 on this wicket is fantastic," he further added.
James Anderson and Matty Potts shined with the ball while Root (115*) and Stokes (54) made an impact with the bat to power England to a five-wicket win over New Zealand.
"He (Potts) took a wicket almost every time he came on, he's got an amazing attitude about the game and it is very exciting to see such a good start. Hopefully, it will continue. We know it's not gonna happen overnight, it will take time but its about those little things. The way Lees and Bairstow played, even for a brief period, that's the kind of attitude we want. Broad and Anderson were really good, inspiring us to do many great things," Stokes said.
Coming to the match, England has won the match by five wickets, chasing down the target of 277. England has finished at 279/5 in 78.5 overs. Root's unbeaten 115* took the team to a victory.
Earlier, batting first, New Zealand was bowled out for 132. Only all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme (42*) and Tim Southee (26) could offer some resistance as debutant Matty Potts (13/4) and James Anderson (66/4) shook the NZ batting lineup with their pace.
In the second innings, England became victims of the pace of Boult (3/21) and Southee (4/55) and was bundled out for 141, gaining a thin nine-run lead.
In the third innings, NZ looked in trouble at 56-4 but Daryl Mitchell (108) and Tom Blundell (96) turned the match on its head and performed a brilliant rescue act to help their side reach 285/10. This helped set up a target of 277 for England.
