On a day in Hamilton that was already foreboding by way of leaden skies, England’s troubles deepened well beyond their bleak position at stumps. Ben Stokes, seemingly rejuvenated on this tour of New Zealand, walked off clutching his left hamstring, and as the hosts piled on a mountain of runs, questions about his viability as an all-rounder swirled.
Stokes busted a gut to get fit after tearing the same hamstring during the Hundred in the summer; an injury serious enough to miss the entire three-match series against Sri Lanka and then make a belated, subdued return in Pakistan. But back in the country of his birth, where a restorative series victory has been secured, the 33-year-old has been operating as a fully fledged fourth seamer and smiling widely with it.
