Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes served up contrasting centuries of determination and destruction that mean England head into the final day of this first Test match against New Zealand in the hunt for victory. Cook batted through the fourth day to record his 27th Test hundred with an unbeaten 153 that, allied with a record-breaking 85-ball century from Stokes, turned an overnight deficit of 60 runs to a lead of 295 over the tourists when his side reached 429 for six by the close.
The left-hander Stokes, who crashed 15 fours and three sixes in the fastest Test century witnessed at Lord’s and lit up a memorable evening session that reaped 168 runs, praised his captain’s innings for giving him the licence to attack.
“I felt I rode my a luck a little bit but I played on instinct, my natural game,” said Stokes. “Cooky held the whole thing together and allowed me to play like that. For him to walk off unbeaten after batting all day is fantastic and we owe a lot to the innings Cooky played today.”
Leading the celebrations on the England balcony was the vice-captain, Joe Root, who, fresh from scoring 84 himself, heralded the breathtaking assault from Stokes with a salute – in reference to the all-rounder’s send-off from Marlon Samuels during last month’s Test in Grenada against West Indies.
“I didn’t see him doing it but the lads told me about it when I got back to the dressing room and I saw the replay,” said Stokes, who scored 92 in the first innings. “I won’t lie, I had a bit of a chuckle to myself. I’m feeling confident at the moment but cricket can turn around quickly so hopefully I can try to capitalise on the form and keep going forward.
“Someone showing that is Rooty, who is Mr Consistent as we keep calling him,” he added. “We’re in a strong position now with a good lead and can hopefully push on to 350-400 and then hopefully [New Zealand] wickets can fall quickly.”
The tourists’ Ross Taylor admitted Cook’s 327-ball vigil is as good as he has seen the England captain bat but warned his side are prepared to chase anything around 330 if they can take the last four wickets early on the fifth day.
“The tempo, the concentration, the pressure he has been under – to bat like that was outstanding,” Taylor said. “He’s put his team in a very good position. That’s the best I’ve seen him bat or at least up there with his century in Dunedin [in 2013]”
Taylor was also happy to praise his former Durham team-mate Stokes while making light of the fact they were born in the same country. “He lived in New Zealand for 10 years, didn’t he?” Taylor joked. “He came out and played his shots, he wasn’t reckless. It was controlled. It was very good to watch – although you probably shouldn’t say that.”
