Ben Duckett and Harry Brook have been hailed for the way they have imposed the Ben Stokes method on New Zealand and set the tone for the series.
There was little doubt that England’s batters would take the game to the Kiwi bowlers after being inserted by new skipper Tim Southee. But it remains one thing having the intent, such as Zak Crawley did and falling cheaply, and quite another to follow it through successfully as Duckett and Brook did with their pair of 80s.
And former England skipper Alastair Cook was purring at the sight of the two most inexperienced batters leading the way as Stokes’ side took a stranglehold on day one with 325-9 declared before capturing three Blackcap wickets.
“That’s the best I’ve seen Ben Duckett bat,” said Cook, who was his first skipper and opening partner back in 2016. “It was a surprise when he got out.
“He played beautifully, setting the tone. First Test of a series, first session, he’s gone out there and imposed himself on New Zealand to allow that momentum to continue from the other ten Test matches Stokesy has captained.
“He is so strong, cutting and pulling. As the opposition you don’t want Duckett to be able to play those cross batted shots, but he is hard to drag forward because of his height.”
Duckett reached his fifth Test fifty from just 36 balls before eventually falling for 84 from just 68 balls when he drove uppishly to cover. Brook was equally destructive with his 89 coming from 81 deliveries with one six to go along with 15 boundaries all around the Bay Oval ground as the floodlights took effect as the evening drew in.
The 23-year-old, who will celebrate his next birthday between the two Tests, came within a whisker of a fourth hundred in as many games after chopping on a short ball from Neil Wagner. But he is relaxed about missing out on the milestone, knowing that he is in supreme form and another score is just around the corner.
“I felt good out there,” said Brook. “It was unfortunate not to get a hundred, but at the end of the day I got a Test 90 so I'm happy with that.
“I prepared very well for the short ball, and I always knew it was going to come at some point so to get out the way I did was probably a little bit unlucky. I think we're just trying to put as much pressure on the bowler and put away their bad balls as much as we can and it's filtered out throughout the team.”
Flying along at more than five and a half runs per over, before announcing the second fastest declaration in the first innings of a Test innings after just 58.2 overs, is entirely in keeping with the way England go about their red ball cricket these days.
But they can only do so thanks to the way their batsmen play and the ability they have, even when, in the case of Joe Root’s reverse lap that was caught at slip, it doesn’t quite come off. Duckett and Brook’s quality, as well as a punchy 42 from Ollie Pope and 38 from Ben Foakes was enough to make the difference this time, and that is all that matters.
