England's captain, Ben Stokes, has reassured fans about his fitness for the upcoming second Test against New Zealand in Wellington, scheduled to begin on Friday. This follows a minor back issue he experienced during England's eight-wicket win in the first Test at Christchurch's Hagley Oval.
Stokes felt some discomfort while bowling to Tim Southee on the fourth day of the Test match. He then handed the ball to Gus Atkinson to finish the over. Despite this brief setback, Stokes remained on the field.
He later downplayed the incident, explaining that his decision to stop bowling was primarily precautionary.
"I twinged my back diving for a catch on day one, and there's a bit of stiffness," Stokes said.
He further confirmed his availability for the next match.
"Given where we were in the game, I thought, 'I don't really need to do this and put myself at risk.' It was more precautionary than anything else, and I'll be fine for Wellington," he added.
In New Zealand's second innings, Stokes bowled 6.3 overs, conceding 30 runs without taking a wicket. His first innings bowling figures were 1-59 from 13 overs.
Across both innings, Stokes bowled a total of 19.3 overs. This represents his highest workload in a Test match since England's tour of Pakistan in December 2022.
England’s bowling attack, spearheaded by Gus Atkinson, wrapped up New Zealand's second innings with a total score of 254 runs.
England then comfortably chased down the target of 104 runs in just 12.4 overs. This secured them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
