England captain Ben Stokes hailed Brydon Carse for leading England's victory march against New Zealand the first Test at Christchurch, labelling the Durham quick "three bowlers in one".
Carse registered combined figures of 10 for 106 to power his side to an eight-wicket victory in the opening match of the three-Test series.
Carse picked up four in New Zealand's first innings and 6-42 in the second to dismiss New Zealand for 254, leaving England chasing just 104 for victory. Debutant Jacob Bethell capped a memorable Test for the visitors by smashing an unbeaten 50 to wrap things up.
The player of the match, however, was the 29-year-old Carse who was just his third appearance at this level. Carse rattled the Kiwis with bouncers, attacking the stumps with full balls while also maintaining a miserly economy rate of 2.76.
He also hit a crucial 33 not out in the first innings total of 499 that went a long way in securing the match for England.
Stokes said: "I've known about Brydon's ability an skills for a while and there was no doubt in my mind that he was going to have an impact when he eventually made it to the top level.
"To have someone in your attack who can almost be three bowlers in one is massive. I use him as the enforcer when we go to the short-pitched stuff, but he's also taken a lot of wickets this week as well and his economy rate has been below three."
The captain continued: "He's got the heart of a lion. It's pretty evident whenever you chuck him the ball he's going to give 100 per cent every single time - he would keep bowling even if his toe was ripped off. He wouldn't show any pain, he'd just keep going and going.
"He's turned out to be the cricketer I always thought he could be. He's just worked incredibly hard to get himself here and I think he's going to be playing for England for a long time now."
Meanwhile, Stokes said he will be fit for the second Test against New Zealand, despite an injury scare on Sunday.
Stokes was bowling to Tim Southee at Hagley Oval when he pulled up and tossed the ball to Gus Atkinson to finish his over.
Stokes stayed on the field and said after his side's convincing win that stopping to bowling had been a precautionary measure and he would play in the second Test.
"I twinged my back diving for a catch on day one and there's a bit of stiffness," Stokes said.
"Where we were in the game it was 'I don't really need to do this and put myself at risk'. So yeah, it was more for caution than anything else and I'll be fine for Wellington."
Stokes bowled four overs at the start of Sunday's fourth day before stopping after three balls of his next over, ending with figures of 0-30 off 6.3 overs in the innings.
He took 1-59 off 13 overs in the first innings and his match total of 19.3 overs were the most deliveries the injury-prone Stokes had sent down in a Test since playing in Pakistan in December 2022.
