England go 1-0 up after Carse picks career-best Test figures

England go 1-0 up after Carse picks career-best Test figures

Brydon Carse picked up his career-best Test figures of 6-42 to set up England's 8-wicket victory in Christchurch, taking a 1-0 series lead. Carse disrupted New Zealand's positive start, claiming three of the four wickets that fell. Matt Henry struck early for England, but Jacob Bethell's half-century ensured they were barely troubled in the chase.

Resuming from 155/6, New Zealand started positively but Carse's double-strike saw England dismiss them for 254. Tim Southee scored all his runs in sixes, but was dismissed by Gus Atkinson. William O'Rourke supported Daryl Mitchell, who scored 84, helping New Zealand post a respectable 254.

After lunch, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley started aggressively, but Crawley was dismissed by Henry. Duckett and Joe Root kept the tempo up, with Root scoring a quickfire 31. Bethell scored a 37-ball half-century as England reached the target in less than 13 overs.

Brief scores:

• England – 499 (Brook 171, Stokes 80, Pope 77; Henry 4-84, Smith 3-141) and 104/2 (Bethell 50*, Root 31; Henry 1-12)
• New Zealand – 348 (Williamson 93, Phillips 58; Carse 4-64, Bashir 4-69) and 254 (Mitchell 84, Williamson 61; Carse 6-42, Woakes 3-59)