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Ben Stokes has credited England’s “more dominant cricket” for securing their first series win in New Zealand since 2008, with Black Caps captain Tom Latham ceding his side were unable to cope with the pressure they were put under by the tourists.England needed just three days to secure a 2-0 lead in the three-match series, rounding out a thrashing of 323 runs at the Basin Reserve on Sunday afternoon. It comes a week after winning the opener at Hagley Oval by eight wickets.England arrived on day three on 378 for 5 in their second innings, already leading by 533. Joe Root’s 36th Test hundred eventually set New Zealand an improbable 583. They were bowled out for 259.The bulk of the work had been done on day one. England battled seaming conditions by sprinting to 280 all out inside 55 overs thanks to a remarkable 123 from Player-of-the-Match Harry Brook. They then channeled those same conditions to dismiss New Zealand for 125 in their first innings, with Brydon Carse’s 4 for 46 and Gus Atkinson’s 4 for 31 (including a hat-trick to finish the innings) leading the charge.Related

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Stokes asserted it was England’s aggressive nature that allowed them to boss this match, and the series so far, particularly when up against it. Here, they were 43 for 4 before making it to 280. It was reminiscent of the first Test, when they rallied from 71 for 4 to make 499 – courtesy another Brook century – after New Zealand had posted 348.”To play the more dominant cricket over the days we have played so far,” answered Stokes when asked how this first away win in New Zealand for 16 years had been achieved.”In this Test in particular, on day one we were 43 for 4 to be here on the winning side on day three is quite phenomenal. We got bowled out in fifty overs (54.5) but we had 270 runs on the board which was a good score on that day one-wicket, and then we obviously had time left with the ball to be able to make some inroads. To score 270 and take five wickets at the end of day one (New Zealand closed on 86 for 5) really set this game up.””We back ourselves to be able to go out there and change games and we feel that there needs to be a bit of impetus put into the game, particularly with the bat.”As a bowler you want to be able to plonk it on a length and plonk it onto the top of off stump over and over again. But sometimes when a batter is brave enough to take you on and knock you off your length, it’s very hard to commit to still doing that.”Latham begrudgingly agreed with the sentiment. Though New Zealand knew what to expect – this was their seventh meeting and sixth defeat against England in the Bazball era. They were unable to halt the tourists’ – especially Brook’s – intent.”It’s the pressure they are able to put you under, especially with the bat. I think on day one it was offering enough for our bowlers and the way Harry played in that innings was outstanding.”Credit where it’s due. The way he played puts you under pressure from ball one. He played some incredible shots that you don’t necessarily see from other teams around the world.”Meanwhile, Stokes was unwilling to be drawn on whether Jacob Bethell has emerged as a challenger to Ollie Pope’s regular position at No.3.Following Jordan Cox’s broken finger, sustained on the final morning of England’s warm-up match in Queenstown, the decision was made to move Pope to six to allow him to keep wicket, with Bethell, the spare batter, brought in at first drop.Jacob Bethell seamlessly slotted into No.3 in New Zealand•AFP/Getty Images

Bethell struck an unbeaten 50 off 37 balls to take England over the line in their chase of 104 in the first Test, and bettered it with 96 in the second innings at Wellington. He missed out on what would have been his first professional century in just his 22nd first-class appearance.Pope has also excelled lower down the order. A vital 77 last week was followed by an equally important 66 here, both in rebuilding, fifth-wicket first innings stands with Brook, of 151 and 174, respectively.Pope has stated he wants to return to three, where he has been throughout Stokes’ tenure. But a conundrum is on the horizon with Bethell’s excellence and the return of Jamie Smith, who missed this tour for the birth of his son, Noah, who arrived last week.Stokes side-stepped the question, but heaped praise on the 21-year-old Bethell for the way he has stepped up a level in an unfamiliar role.”I know there was a bit made of Beth batting at three with his inexperience and the lack of first-class cricket batting up the top of the order.”But me and Baz don’t think like that. You’ve got a young lad with so much potential and so much talent, why not let him go out there and expose himself to Test cricket at its toughest.”As a young lad, I was devastated for him to not get that three figures. But I walked in and I said to him, “it’s only four runs, isn’t it?” And his response was “Yeah, but it would have been flair if I smacked that through the covers to bring it up.” Class. I think he’s proved a lot to a lot of people and proved why we rate him so highly.”

A superb unbeaten century by Phil Salt led England to a convincing eight-wicket victory over West Indies for a 1-0 lead in their five-match T20I series in Barbados.Saqib Mahmood took career-best figures of 4 for 34, including three wickets in the powerplay and a tight over at the death, but in the meantime West Indies blitzed their way through three key partnerships to set England a lofty target, despite having lurched to 117 for 8.Nicholas Pooran, who top-scored for the hosts, and captain Rovman Powell put on 41 runs together from just 17 balls but it was Pooran and Andre Russell who defied a steady flow of wickets to add 39 from 26 and then tailenders Gudakesh Motie and Romario Shepherd with 49 off 26 who pumped up the hosts.Their efforts were ultimately futile, however, in the face of Salt’s remarkable 103 not out off just 54 balls in which he attacked from the outset, helping himself to 22 runs off one Shamar Joseph over and never looked back.It was a case of two second-home lads doing good as Salt, who spent six of his pre-teen and teenage years living in Barbados, shared an unbroken 107-run stand with Jacob Bethell, the latter raising his maiden T20I fifty to enthusiastic support from the crowd, having been born and raised in Barbados up to the age of 13.All-out (as)SaltWhen Salt struck five consecutive boundaries off Joseph to take his side past the 50-mark in the fourth over of the run-chase, England looked all business. He brought up his own half-century off 25 balls with the second of three sixes to come off Motie’s first over, crunched over deep midwicket before Will Jacks launched the third over long-on. Jacks fell on the next ball, bowled middle stump attempting to sweep, but by that time England had closed out the powerplay at 73 for 1, compared to West Indies’ 58 for 3. Motie couldn’t stay away from the action, his brilliant one-handed take at third removing Jos Buttler, batting at No. 3 on his return to action after a five-month injury lay-off, for a first-ball duck.For all his big hitting, Salt’s deft punch for four just behind backward point off Joseph in the ninth over was prettier than any of his four sixes up to that moment and highlighted the range of shots which comprised his innings. Bethell mimicked the shot, slightly finer off Shepherd, as he settled into just his third innings in T20Is, playing the perfect supporting role to Salt, his unbeaten 58 coming off 36 balls and including an elegant six over cover off the penultimate ball.He followed that immediately with the winning runs, pulling Shepherd for two to seal victory with 3.1 overs to spare. Salt had moved into the nineties swinging Shepherd to square leg, where the ball shot through the fingertips of Sherfane Rutherford as he tumbled over the boundary for six more before he brought up his ton in what turned out to be the last over of the game with four down the ground. It was Salt’s third century in T20Is, all of them coming in the Caribbean against West Indies.Saqib Mahmood celebrates dismissing Brandon King•Getty Images

In the MahmoodMahmood struck early when Brandon King, a centurion as West Indies won the third and final ODI for a 2-1 series win, slammed his fifth ball – the 11th of the match – straight to short cover. In his next over, Mahmood had two wickets in as many balls as Bethell took an excellent low catch running in from the rope at deep backward square to remove Evin Lewis and then luring Shimron Hetmyer with a superb length ball that moved away ever so slightly as it took an edge through to Salt. It was quite the comeback from Mahmood, playing just his third T20I since January 2022 after suffering two stress fractures in his back. His two other matches in the format since had yielded 2 for 21 and no wicket for 37 against Australia in September, but now he had 3 for 12 from two overs.Meanwhile fellow seamer Reece Topley conceded 20 runs from 15 balls, including Powell’s nurdled four through deep third then six over square leg immediately before Topley slipped in his follow-through clutching his right knee. Topley was visibly limping as a brief rain shower arrived, sending the players from the field for just over half an hour. Topley returned after the stoppage, only to be greeted by a lofted drive for six by Powell and that was enough to send the bowler from the field for the rest of the innings with what was later confirmed as a jarred knee as Jamie Overton finished his third over. Mahmood returned to have his figures blighted by conceding 18 runs off his third over, Pooran heaving over the fence at wide long-on, threading four through deep backward point and swinging over deep midwicket for another six.No fearAdil Rashid entered the attack in the seventh over and struck with his second ball, Powell going big again but unable to clear a leaping Overton just inside the boundary at long-on. Although he had handed the wicketkeeping gloves to Salt, returning captain Buttler sprung with the reflexes of a cat to snare a brilliant one-handed catch at slip in Rashid’s next over to remove Rutherford. Pooran and Russell forged a defiant partnership, Russell slamming back-to-back sixes off Rashid and moving to a 16-ball 30. But Liam Livingstone managed to end their union when he responded to seeing his third ball deposited back over his head for six by having Russell caught at deep cover by Dan Mousley. Pooran followed for 38, falling to another spectacular catch by Buttler, launching himself high and twisting in the air in the covers off Overton.West Indies looked determined to go down blazing. Rashid claimed his third when he pinned Akeal Hosein at the second attempt with an excellent leg-break. But just as it looked like the hosts’ fightback might fizzle, Motie strode to the crease at No. 10 and struck 16 runs off the first three balls he faced, including back-to-back sixes off Rashid. He had raced to 33 off just 14 balls by the time Mahmood had him caught on the deep midwicket boundary to claim his fourth wicket of the match. It ended Motie’s ninth-wicket stand with Shepherd, who ended with an unbeaten 35 off 22, their union helping West Indies to a total which had seemed so unlikely earlier.

Babar Azam’s unbeaten 104 off 100 balls and Jahandad Khan’s three wickets with the new ball handed Dolphins their third defeat in three games as Stallions registered a mammoth 174-run win in Faisalabad. The result also meant that the teams batting first have won all seven matches so far in the tournament.After Stallions opted to bat, Shan Masood and Yasir Khan gave them a start of 76 in 13 overs. Faheem Ashraf broke the stand with Masood’s wicket and put the brakes on the scoring rate. Yasir, too, fell soon after but Babar played the anchor’s role to perfection. Along with Tayyab Tahir, he added 57 for the third wicket and took the side to 150 in the 30th over.Dolphins used six bowlers in the match and each of them picked up a wicket, but Babar stood firm. At the end of 40 overs, he was on 50 off 65 balls. In the last ten, he smashed 54 off 35, with the help of three fours and three sixes, and lifted Stallions to 271 for 7.If Dolphins thought they would break their duck, Jahandad shattered their hopes quite early into the chase. With the second ball of the innings, he had Muhammad Hurraira caught behind for a duck. In his third over, he trapped Umar Amin lbw to make it 15 for 2.Sahibzada Farhan and Saud Shakeel struck five fours in the next 20 balls but Jahandad struck immediately after that, this time cleaning up Shakeel.Soon after, Haris Rauf dismissed Sarfaraz Ahmed and Qasim Akram in the space of three balls to leave Dolphins gasping for air. From 60 for 5, there was no comeback. The lower middle order surrendered without any resistance against the spin duo of Abrar Ahmed and Mehran Mumtaz. The two shared five wickets as Dolphins folded for 97.

Jubilant Sussex needed less than a session of the third day to wrap up an innings victory over Gloucestershire at Bristol and clinch promotion from Division Two of the Vitality County Championship with a game to spare.Resuming on 140 for 3 in their second innings, trailing by 62 runs, the home side were skittled for 195, left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat finishing with 3 for 39 and match figures of 7 for 71, while Henry Crocombe took 4 for 22.The margin of victory was an innings and seven runs, Sussex taking 21 points to Gloucestershire’s three from an eighth Championship win of a memorable campaign and building an unassailable advantage over third-placed Middlesex.When Crocombe claimed the final wicket at 12.08pm it provoked scenes of celebration, the seamer raising both arms in the air before joining in a group hug on the square involving the whole team. The Division Two title awaits for the runaway leaders, who have been far and away the best and most consistent side.Knowing they were on the cusp of earning a place in the top flight, Sussex were on their game from the opening over, which saw Chris Dent bowled by Unadkat’s fifth delivery without adding to his overnight score of 61.James Bracey could make only two before a thick edge off Ollie Robinson saw him snapped up by Tom Haines in the gully and it was 153 for six when Graeme van Buuren drove at a full delivery from Unadkat and got a nick through to wicketkeeper John Simpson.Nightwatchman Ed Middleton battled away for 64 balls and shared a seventh-wicket stand of 36 with Tom Price before edging another catch to Simpton off Crocombe to make it 189 for seven. Gloucestershire still trailed by 13 runs.In his next over Crocombe bowled Zafar Gohar with a yorker and removed Zaman Akhter’s off stump with the following delivery. The hat-trick ball was too wide and left alone by last man Dom Goodman.Gloucestershire’s only remaining hope was to avoid an innings defeat. It proved beyond them as Crocombe struck again from the Ashley Down Road End, finishing a spell he will long remember by pinning Goodman leg before for two.

A rapid half-century by Tahlia Wilson and a strong finish from the middle order proved crucial for Australia A as they secured a hard-fought five-run victory in the first T20 of India A’s multiformat visit despite an excellent innings from Priya Punia.Wilson dominated the early exchanges with a 33-ball fifty in an opening stand of 74 with Katie Mack but the home side fell away, losing 5 for 42 before Nicole Faltum and Maddy Darke took 31 off the last two overs.In the chase India A could never quite completely get on top of the required rate but Punia and Tanuja Kanwar added 64 for the third wicket and they needed a further 64 from 33 balls when Kanwar was smartly stumped by Faltum as she advanced at Maitlan Brown.Despite the best efforts of Punia, who struck seven fours and three sixes, including two in three balls against Charli Knott, the requirement proved narrowly out of reach as she became one of three run-outs. Left-arm spinner Sophie Day was impressive, conceding 19 runs from her four overs and just three from her last in the 17th.With 28 runs coming off the 18th and 19th overs, India A entered the last needing 16, which captain Tahlia McGrath was able to defend despite conceding a boundary to Sayali Satghare.Earlier, Australia A had been put into bat and Wilson ensured a strong powerplay as they reached 49 without loss after six overs. Left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque sparked India A’s fightback by removing Wilson the ball after reaching her half-century then put herself on a hat-trick in the 12th over by claiming Mack lbw and having McGrath caught behind cutting first ball.Three overs later, Knott and Tess Flintoff fell in the space of three deliveries against Satghare and it appeared Australia A’s innings could fade away. The next three overs brought just 16 runs, but Darke and Faltum timed their late surge well with the latter slotting away three consecutive boundaries at the start of the 20th.The teams will return to Allan Border Field for the second match on Friday followed by the last T20 on Sunday. Three one-dayers then follow next week on Mackay before the tour concludes with a four-day game on the Gold Coast.

Visa issues have prevented Ottneil Baartman, the South African fast bowler, from joining Hampshire for the rest of the T20 Blast.Baartman, who made six appearances at the T20 World Cup during South Africa’s run to the final, was due to play for Hampshire in their final six group games. But his arrival was delayed due to unspecified “visa issues” and the club announced on Friday that, with their quarter-final hopes thin, his deal has been cancelled.”We would like to wish Ottneil all the best and hope to see him in a Hawks shirt in the future,” Hampshire said in a club statement. Baartman initially signed as a replacement for Naveen-ul-Haq, who pulled out of his contract with Hampshire citing “personal reasons” and is instead playing for Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket.After two wins, three no-results and five defeats, Hampshire sit seventh in the nine-team South Group of the Blast heading into Friday night’s fixture against Gloucestershire at the Ageas Bowl. With the top four teams qualifying for the quarter-finals, they may need to win all four of their remaining fixtures to progress.”We’ll have to do some maths to see if we can still qualify,” Adi Birrell, their coach, said after their most recent defeat to Sussex. “I can’t really think that two wins out of ten gives us a chance of getting through to the quarter-finals but we’ll have to have a look at it.”We had three rained-off games, which has given us a few points, but we’re not really playing well enough to go through… we were a bit off in all departments [against Sussex], as we have been throughout the campaign. We haven’t really put in a good performance in all departments.”

Marnus Labuschagne will have the chance to establish his credentials as a potential future Australia captain after he was named Queensland’s new leader for the 2024-25 season.Labuschagne will replace Usman Khawaja who will remain captain of Brisbane Heat in the BBL. They will join forces with new Queensland and Heat coach Johan Botha.Labuschagne briefly captained Queensland in the Marsh Cup and Sheffield Shield last season. Queensland finished bottom of the Shield, for the first time since 2007-08, and fifth in the one-day competition.”Both Marnus and Usman are strong leaders and we’re looking to the future by appointing Marnus to lead the Bulls,” Queensland Cricket CEO Terry Svenson said. “It is an ideal opportunity for Marnus to once again showcase his leadership abilities and provide him with experience at first class and one-day level. He and our players enjoyed the opportunity he had last season to lead the Bulls and Marnus is excited about the season ahead and working with new coach, Johan Botha.”However, quite how much of Queensland’s season Labuschagne will be available for beyond the first month in October remains to be seen. Australia have an ODI series against Pakistan in November which he will likely be part of before the Tests against India. Australia tour Sri Lanka for two Tests from late January then head to Pakistan for Champions Trophy which runs into March.”I’m greatly honoured to be appointed Queensland captain, as I know how much the Bulls mean to the fans around the state,” Labuschagne said. “I’ve been in a very fortunate position to play alongside some exceptional leaders, and the chance to step up and do a job for the team I love is exciting.””We have a great group of players and one of the aspects of the captaincy that I am most looking forward to is helping us to make the most of the structure and opportunities we are creating here in Queensland.”While there is no imminent prospect of a change of captaincy in the Australia set-up, Pat Cummins has indicated he is unlikely to do the Test and ODI job for a prolonged period. There has previously been a concern about prospective future captains not being able to cut their teeth at domestic level, although Cummins’ success in the role may have alleviated those.Travis Head, who has previously led South Australia and Adelaide Strikers, has been talked about as a potential future captain. Australia’s last Test side, against New Zealand in Christchurch, only included two players – Labuschagne and Cameron Green – who were aged under 30.

Rishabh Pant spent an entire day on the field, seemingly untroubled by his foot, as he returned to action after more than two months in rehab for a foot injury sustained while batting during the fourth Test in Manchester.N Jagadeesan wasn’t as lucky, after B Sai Sudharsan’s spikes got stuck into his right hand during a training session on match eve. The selectors were forced to summon Ishan Kishan as cover. Jagadeesan’s injury meant an opportunity at the top of the order for Ayush Mhatre, the Mumbai opener, who was originally set to play only the second four-day fixture.All eyes were on Pant when he arrived early and began the day with warm-ups, timed sprints and a batting hit prior to the toss, which he won to put South Africa A in to bat. On a green surface at the Centre of Excellence, which offered plenty of seam movement and swing, the decision seemed justifiable. But gritty efforts from Jordan Hermann and Zubayr Hamza drove South Africa A to 299 for 9 at stumps. Nonetheless, they will be disappointed with the total, because there was the promise of a lot more earlier in the day.India A’s efforts in the field were led by Tanush Kotian, the offspinning allrounder, who picked up four wickets. He wheeled away for much of the second and third session, and was complemented by Manav Suthar, who was unlucky to have only two wickets next to his name at the end of a day where he got the odd ball to turn sharply, and jump up at the batters, whenever they seemed indecisive.Jordan Hermann used sweeps to great effect•PTI

Among the fast bowlers, Gurnoor Brar was potent but had just one wicket to show after 15 overs of toil himself. But the wicket he prised out – of Hamza for 66 – exhibited the virtues he’s been picked for. Gurnoor can hit hard lengths, hustle batters for pace, and have them hopping. This was exactly how Hamza fell, when he tried to evade a well-directed short ball to break a 130-run second-wicket stand.But Hamza had several moments he will look back on fondly from his innings. His manner of tackling spin against Tanush Kotian and Manav Suthar will stand him in good stead, if he gets an opportunity to feature in the two Tests that follow later this month. He didn’t let Kotian settle down, and used his feet superbly to hit him over mid-off repeatedly in his first two overs.Then, Hamza drove Kotian against the turn through extra cover, with Pant keen on leaving cover open to try and trap him into a false stroke. Against Suthar’s left-arm spin, he used his feet well to step out and cover the line to flick him against the turn through midwicket. One such stroke brought up his half-century.Hermann was more sedate after a fiery start. He began with square drive off Khaleel Ahmed, and was quick to pounce on anything short. Once Hamza took charge, however, Jordan slipped back into a more tempered pace, playing himself into the innings. Along the way, he was challenged by Brar’s pace and late movement.India A attacked with close-in fielders before stumps•PTI

Once spin came on, Jordan eased himself against Suthar by playing the lap sweeps and paddles, one of which had him fall over in a manner reminiscent of Pant’s red-ball pyrotechnics. He also played the shot of the afternoon – a sumptuous flick through midwicket, off Khaleel, in the first over after lunch. But he was eventually dismissed on 71, lbw while stuck on the crease to play Kotian against the turn.Shortly prior to his wicket, captain Marques Ackermann perished to Kotian when he tried to step out and flick, unable to get to the pitch and chipping one straight to Suthar. This dismissal briefly brought together Jordan and his older brother, Rubin Hermann, to the crease.The latter did a fine job, after it looked at one point as if India A would run through the lower middle-order, when Rivaldo Moonsamy fell just after tea to leave them 197 for 5. Ruben drove through the line fearlessly as Khaleel went searching for some reverse in the final session, and had a slice of luck when Sai Sudharsan put him down at deep backward square leg on 38.But it didn’t cost India A much as he was out soon after. He was bowled by Kotian for 54, to a delivery that kept low after he was too early into a pull shot. Shortly after, Kotian scalped up a classic offspinner’s dismissal, when he bowled Prenelan Subrayen through the gate, to claim his fourth towards the end of the day’s play.As stumps approached, Pant employed as many as six fielders around the bat, with South Africa A’s lower order at the crease. The tactic worked when Tiaan van Vuren’s top-edge off a slog sweep was lapped up by Devdutt Padikkal. India A then enjoyed the perfect finish to the day, when Khaleel trapped Lutho Sipamla lbw, to help them take the honours on the opening day.