England’s Ashes puzzle might be coming together as Bazballers secure first away series win in two years, according to LAWRENCE BOOTH.

It is hard to imagine a more complete win than the 323-run drubbing which secured England’s first series victory in New Zealand for over 16 years.

With the bat, there was a high-class rescue act on the first day from Harry Brook and Ollie Pope, an inevitable hundred from Joe Root on the third, and a highly promising 96 from Jacob Bethell in between.

With the ball, a hat-trick from Gus Atkinson, and another gold-standard display from Brydon Carse, whose first four Tests have brought 25 wickets at under 17 — and the sense that England have unearthed an absolute menace.

The Ashes are still almost a year away, but England have spent 2024 rearranging their jigsaw. Across three days at the Basin Reserve, the pieces came together with an ease that will not have gone unnoticed over the Tasman — even as Australia brushed aside India in Adelaide.

It’s nearly a quarter of a century since New Zealand lost three Tests in a home series, but that is the carrot now being dangled in front of England as they head for Hamilton. And such is their stranglehold over a New Zealand side who they have beaten in six of their seven meetings during the Bazball era that only complacency can deny them.

For Ben Stokes, who now has 19 wins as captain — one more than Mike Brearley, another supreme man-manager, from the same number of Tests — it was a chance to reflect on a turnaround as swift as it was remarkable.

‘On day one, we were 40 for four,’ he said. ‘To be here on the winning side on day three is quite phenomenal. Huge credit to the bravery of Harry and Ollie in particular to take on the New Zealand attack, which set the game up for us.’

England were already miles ahead by the third morning, but they did not let up in their bid for a first overseas series win since Pakistan two years ago.

Root brought up a 36th Test hundred with the cheekiest of reverse-ramps for four that had Stokes, his partner, celebrating as if he had brought up the century himself. When England declared at 427 for six, they had scored at more than five an over.

Then, as New Zealand embarked on a purely theoretical chase of 583, Chris Woakes — improving all the time with the Kookaburra ball that has so often been his undoing — produced an impeccable opening spell to bowl Devon Conway and have Kane Williamson caught behind. On a day when only a minor gale blowing in from the harbour threatened to knock England off course, Carse nipped in with the wickets of Tom Latham, instinctively caught off his own bowling, and Rachin Ravindra, flashing behind moments before a shower brought an early lunch.

Carse is a captain’s dream, and with the wind behind him he was a batsman’s nightmare.

Atkinson had Daryl Mitchell caught behind and, when Shoaib Bashir bowled Glenn Phillips, it was 141 for six. Wicketkeeper Tom Blundell had some fun during a powerful century in which he took apart Bashir, asked to bowl his off-breaks into the wind.

But after Ben Duckett had cleverly anticipated Blundell’s ramp shot, moving from slip to leg slip before parrying the ball and catching the rebound, Stokes (right with Bashir) wrapped up the innings for 259 with three for five, his best Test figures since July 2022.

The only black mark in England’s copybook is the form of Zak Crawley, who has made only 26 runs from four innings. But that will give Stokes and Brendon McCullum as much pause for thought as their decision to bat Bethell at No 3, despite the protestations of those who worried about his first-class record. 

‘Me and Baz don’t think like that,’ said Stokes. ‘You’ve got a young lad with so much potential and talent. Why not let him go out there and expose himself to Test cricket?

‘I was devastated for him not to get three figures. But I walked in and 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 why we rate him so highly.’

It seems crazy after games like this that Bazball still has its critics, but the boldness that informs England’s selection and strokeplay has made Test cricket a livelier place. And the philosophy was central to Brook’s decision to counter-attack on the first morning, hitting New Zealand’s seamers off their lengths when the pitch was at its most helpful. He immediately declared his 123 the best of his eight Test hundreds, and with good reason. 

Latham, New Zealand’s captain, was generous in his praise. ‘It’s the pressure they are able to put you under, especially with the bat,’ he said. ‘The way Harry played was outstanding. He played some incredible shots that you don’t necessarily see from other teams. We’ve seen that attacking nature time and time again.’

Brook did not take the field during the fourth innings after hurting an ankle in the warm-up, but said he would be fine for Hamilton, which starts on Friday night. There will, then, be little respite for New Zealand, but this England team know no other way.