England all-rounder Ben Stokes delighted by first Test win over New Zealand
Tuesday 26 May 2015 08:10, UK
England all-rounder Ben Stokes hailed the first Test win over New Zealand at Lord's as his greatest moment in cricket so far.
The 23-year-old turned in a man-of-the-match performance with scores of 92 and 101 with the bat and also contributed with the ball on a riveting final day - his 3-38 proving crucial in breaking up a determined touring middle order and setting up a 124-run victory for England.
Asked if it was the finest moment of his career to date, Stokes said: "Without a doubt. The whole game itself was pretty special. The momentum kept switching from side-to-side and the crowd were absolutely fantastic - especially today.
"I've been striking the ball pretty well in the nets but I couldn't say I was expecting to do anything like that. It was a bit of a fluke I guess! I'm really happy with the way the game went and more importantly, we got the win.
"There was always opportunities to score with the fields that Brendon (McCullum) sets because he's a very attacking captain. There's always opportunities to rotate the strike and Lord's is a very fast-scoring outfield, so if you pierce the field you're more than likely to hit a boundary.
"Once Joe (Root) and I got in, we just tried to keep going and get us back in a good position. It makes the game a lot easier when you can just be out there having fun with one of your mates. Obviously Joe's been in incredible the last 18 months so we call him 'The Don' at the moment."
Home captain Alastair Cook said he had not heard Lord's as loud as when Stokes took two wickets in two balls - having Kane Williamson caught before disrupting the stumps of visiting captain Brendon McCullum.
Stokes said of the atmosphere: "The crowd were getting behind us the whole day and we owe them a massive amount of credit to walk away with the win."
