Stokes 'blessed' to have played in New Zealand-England classic and has no follow-on regrets

By Sports Desk February 28, 2023

Ben Stokes felt "blessed" to have taken part in one of the all-time great Test finishes and has no regrets in enforcing the follow-on despite England's one-run loss to New Zealand.

Neil Wagner took four wickets, including the final scalp of James Anderson, as England were bowled for 256 requiring 258 for victory.

It meant the series finished tied at 1-1, while New Zealand became only the fourth team to win a Test having been forced to follow-on.

"It is disappointing to not win, but we look at the bigger picture," England captain Stokes told BT Sport.

"What everyone has enjoyed here today is probably bigger than any disappointment at the moment.

"Being in that situation in the last half an hour, it is everything you wish for.

"And even though we came out on the wrong side of it, you can't help but feel blessed that we managed to be a part of an incredible game like that."

England declared with two wickets remaining in their first innings and asked New Zealand to bat again after knocking the Black Caps over for 209.

But instead of going back to the crease to give New Zealand something to chase, Stokes opted to have the hosts bat again – a decision he would not change.

"Imagine captaining in hindsight? That's not something I would ever do," he said.

"It was always our game to lose once we had enforced the follow-on. The logic was our bowlers had ripped through their top order three innings in a row and we knew New Zealand had to play pretty much the perfect game to put us in a situation like this.

"Batting in the last innings chasing 250 is not something we were worried about, but you have to give huge credit to New Zealand not just for the way they batted in their second innings but the way they bowled and managed to get early wickets with not too many runs on the board.

"Other teams are allowed to pay better than us and New Zealand played better than us this week."

Stokes said Anderson's reaction to being the final wicket, where he walked off smiling, summed up the feeling of everyone playing in the Test match.

"I didn't know how Jimmy would react when he walked off," Stokes added.

"He's been in those positions before where he's walked off disappointed, but the fact he was walking off smiling made everything we talk and speak about true and a reality."

Related items

  • IPL: Royals downed by big-hitting Capitals IPL: Royals downed by big-hitting Capitals

    Rajasthan Royals failed to chase down the Delhi Capitals, who claimed a 20-run victory in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.

    Sanju Samson struck 86 off 46 balls for the second-placed Royals, but the Capitals successfully defended their haul of 221.

    Jake Fraser-McGurk's 20-ball 50 set the tone for the Capitals, who are well in the play-off hunt with two matches remaining.

    Fellow opener Abishek Porel plundered 65, with Tristan Stubbs adding a useful 41 towards the end of the innings, with Ravichandran Ashwin (3-24) the only Royals bowler to do significant damage.

    Kuldeep Yadav (2-25) and Mukesh Kumar (2-30) led the way with the ball for Delhi, with the latter taking the vital wicket of Samson in the 16th over, leaving the Royals with too much to do from 162-4.

    Delhi have won three of their last four matches and are making a late run for the play-offs, as one of four teams tied on 12 points.

    Data Debrief: Samson soars

    It took Samson just 31 minutes to amass 86 runs before he was eventually dismissed, with the loss of his wicket all but ending the Royals' hopes.

    In the process, he moved into third place in the IPL run-scorers chart, up from 11th, with 471 runs to his name this season. He trails only Ruturaj Gaikwad (541) and Virat Kohli (542).

  • Seales takes 5-29 in second innings to help Sussex complete innings and 124-run rout of Derbyshire Seales takes 5-29 in second innings to help Sussex complete innings and 124-run rout of Derbyshire

    Jayden Seales is now the leading wicket-taker after five rounds of the County Championship Division Two after another stellar performance to help Sussex rout Derbyshire by an innings and 124 runs at the County Ground in Derby from May 3-5.

    Seales took 1-54 from 14 overs in the first innings as Derbyshire were bowled out for 246 in 63.3 overs after Sussex won the toss.

    Luis Reece (50), Blair Tickner (47) and Aneurin Donald (44) were the top run-scorers against 2-6 from James Coles and 2-65, each, from Ollie Robinson and Fynn Hudson-Prentice.

    Cheteshwar Pujara then starred with the bat with 113 off 186 balls as Sussex piled up 479 off 109.4 overs in their first innings.

    James Coles (72), Tom Alsop (64) and Tom Haines (58) provided good support for Pujara against three-wicket hauls from Daryn Dupavillon and Jack Morley.

    Seales then produced an excellent spell of bowling to help restrict Derbyshire to just 109 all out in 26 overs.

    He took 5-29 from his eight overs, taking his tally this season to 18 in four games. Danny Lamb also bowled well with 2-10 from four overs.

    Full Scores: Derbyshire 246 off 63.3 overs (Luis Reece 50, Blair Tickner 47, Aneurin Donald 44, James Coles 2-6, Ollie Robinson 2-65, Fynn Hudson-Prentice 2-65) & 109 off 26 overs (Jayden Seales 5-29, Danny Lamb 2-10)

    Sussex 479 off 109.4 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 113, James Coles 72, Tom Alsop 64, Tom Haines 58, Daryn Dupavillon 3-89, Jack Morley 3-117, Luis Reece 2-32)

  • IPL: Yadav century ends Mumbai's losing streak in style IPL: Yadav century ends Mumbai's losing streak in style

    Suryakumar Yadav scored an unbeaten century to lead Mumbai Indians to a seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Monday.

    Yadav hit a sensational 102 not out off 51 balls with six maximums as Mumbai successfully chased a target of 174 with 16 balls to spare, lifting them off the foot of the table.

    Despite a slow start to the Indians' innings in which SRH took three wickets in the first five overs, Yadav’s introduction turned things around as he put on a partnership of 143 with Tilak Varma (37 not-out).

    Sunrisers had started well, with Travis Head reeling off a quick 48, but Piyush Chawla (3-33) and Hardik Pandya (3-31) limited Hyderabad to 173-8, with Anshul Kamboj claiming his maiden IPL wicket by bowling out Mayank Agarwal.

    Pat Cummins finished with a flurry, knocking 35 runs from 17 balls, and the Australia captain helped SRH put the Indians on the ropes when he dismissed Rohit Sharma in the fourth over.

    Yet Mumbai would lose only one more wicket as Yadav inspired them to victory that snapped a four-match losing run.

    Data Debrief: Yadav star of the show

    This was Yadav's first IPL hundred of the season, with his knock including 18 boundaries (12 fours, six sixes), taking him up to 334 runs so far this campaign.

    He is 16th in the overall rankings, and some 108 runs behind leader Virat Kohli. 

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.