England captain Ben Stokes feels blessed to be involved in a dramatic and high-quality game of cricket that his side lost by just one run, saying the enjoyment of being part of the thriller has outweighed the disappointment of losing the second Test.
New Zealand defeated England by one run in a sensational finish at the Basin Reserve on Tuesday to level the two-match series 1-1.
It is only the fourth occasion in Test history that a team, forced to follow-on, has gone on to win the match, with the previous occasions being England in 1894 and 1981, and India in 2001. "It's disappointing to not win, obviously.
But we look at the bigger picture of what everyone's enjoyed and seen here today. It's probably bigger than the disappointment at the moment," said Stokes, who tasted a rare defeat since taking over as captain last year. "It's very disappointing to lose, but you can't help but be excited that we've been a part of a game like that." "It's right up there.