Brydon, Bethell help England crush Kiwis

England’s Brydon Carse holds the ball after his six-wicket haul in the second innings on Day Four v NZ in Christchurch yesterday. Pic/AP; PTI

England blazed to an eight-wicket WIN in the first Test against New Zealand on Sunday, knocking off their 104-run target in just 12.4 overs of their second innings. After bowling out New Zealand for 254 on Day Four here, debutant Jacob Bethell scored the winning runs to reach a maiden Test 50 off 37 deliveries with eight fours and a six. Joe Root was not out on 23 off 15 balls at the other end.

"Very happy with the way we performed throughout the week. Our bowlers were relentless throughout," said England captain Ben Stokes after his side took a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series. NZ resumed on 155-6 in their second innings, a lead of four runs, and reached 254, a lead of 103. Daryl Mitchell, 31 overnight, scored a defiant 84. England's Brydon Carse took six second-innings wickets to finish with 10 in a Test for the first time.

England batterJacob Bethell celebrates his team's win. Pic/AFP

The 104-run target was never going to be enough to stop England, who sealed the Test midway through the afternoon session. They lost Zak Crawley in the second over, caught and bowled by Matt Henry for one, and Ben Duckett caught by Henry off O'Rourke for a rapid 27 off 18 balls before Bethell and Root took over. The home defeat evaporated NZ's euphoria from their recent 3-0 sweep in India and all but ended their hopes of a berth in the World Test Championship final.

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Through the first two sessions of the Test, the Black Caps had the upper hand, despite losing the toss, as they reached 199-3 on a seaming wicket. Even when they were all out for 348 and England were 71-4 in reply, the momentum was with NZ, but from there the game turned England's way with some belligerent batting aided by sloppy fielding, which included eight dropped catches. "On a different day, catches go to hand and things might be different, but that's the sport we play," said NZ captain Tom Latham.

Brief scores
New Zealand 348 & 254 (D Mitchell 84, K Williamson 61; B Carse 6-42, C Woakes 3-59) lost to England 499 & 104-2 (J Bethell 50', M Henry 1-12) by eight wickets

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