England captain stoked by Ben’s return
His bat may have been bare, but Ben Stokes still showed plenty in his much-awaited international return.
The allrounder played his first match for England since September in his side’s three-wicket defeat to New Zealand in Hamilton on Sunday.
Stokes had been sidelined from international duty after an incident in Bristol resulted in him being charged with affray last month. Stokes pleaded not guilty and the case was referred to Bristol Crown Court, with an initial hearing on March 12, with Stokes having a request not to have to appear in person granted.
His display at Seddon Park ‘‘really pleased’’ captain Eoin Morgan.
After making just 12 off 22 balls with the bat in England’s innings of 284-8, Stokes took 2-43 with the ball from eight overs. His wickets of Tom Latham and Colin de Grandhomme swung the match the way of the visitors, but Mitchell Santner’s late heroics claimed the win for the Black Caps.
‘‘I thought he adapted to conditions perfectly well, using slower balls well and it was something that we struggled to do while their partnership evolved,’’ Morgan said.
‘‘Two [wickets] on the bounce causes pressure in the changing room and shifts momentum a lot. Allows us to bring [legspinner] Adil [Rashid] into the game later on too.’’
Along with the slower balls, Stokes did register 142kph on the radar too.
‘‘He travelled really well,’’ Morgan said. ‘‘After the first spell he said he could have bowled longer, but we didn’t really need him at that stage. We needed something to happen, and he’s the kind of player who can make something happen. He will certainly pull up stiff tomorrow.’’
Stokes came out with a blank bat - he lost his New Balance sponsorship post-Bristol - and played a patchy innings, but Morgan said the 26-year-old was ‘‘delighted to be back’’.
‘‘He’s told everybody that,’’ Morgan said. ‘‘It’s an awesome feeling, when you’ve been away and you’re back in a fun environment, with lots of good friends around.
‘‘I can vouch for that. I spend a lot of time away while the tests are on. You come back and it puts a smile on your face.’’
Immediately after the loss, Morgan struggled to evaluate his side’s effort.
‘‘There were passages of play where both teams played really well.
‘‘The partnership between Joe Root and Jason Roy, then Jos Buttler were positives in our batting, and then we made inroads early which is a good sign. They fought back well with [Ross] Taylor and [Tom] Latham.
‘‘As a counter to the T20, we were trying to bowl our seamers before the sun set and the shadows came across and the pitch got damp and the dew came into effect. We did that reasonably well, but they played exceptionally well and Ross scored a hundred.
‘‘We clawed it back by taking Latham’s wicket. It ebbed and flowed and there wasn’t much in it.
‘‘I thought we played well. It was quite tough.
‘‘While Taylor was in, they were always in with a shout. The way he played kept us in the hunt. Because he was losing wickets he couldn’t pull the trigger, he had to run it deep.’’
Morgan was surprised spin didn’t play a bigger part in the match.
‘‘I’m not sure spinners from both sides bowled as well as they did during the T20 game [here].
‘‘Both sides during the T20 bowled really really well. Hit their straps, made it turn quite a lot. Today, it was more hold, not as much purchase.
‘‘And having an extra man in the circle does create a different mentality for bowlers. They can say it doesn’t, but it certainly does.’’