Opener hits 94 from 90 balls after tourists skittle Prime Minister’s XI for 136

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2024Zak Crawley hit 94 and Brydon Carse took four wickets as England stretched their legs on the first day of action on their tour of New Zealand.After opting to bowl, England dismissed the Prime Minister’s XI shortly after lunch, with Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson and Carse sharing the wickets. They then raced into the lead, Crawley providing the impetus in an innings that featured 14 fours and two sixes.Ben Stokes, England’s Test captain, sat out day one of the two-day game, with Ollie Pope leading the side in his absence.The youthful PM XI, which featured five players aged 23 or under, were soon in trouble against England’s new-ball pair of Woakes and Atkinson, who took two apiece up front to leave the hosts 20 for 4.Snehith Reddy, the 17-year-old New Zealand U19 allrounder, hit 60 from No. 6 but Carse – one of five bowlers used, alongside Matt Potts and Shoaib Bashir – helped England chip out the rest of the order.Crawley launched the reply in typically aggressive fashion, putting on 90 in 15.1 overs alongside Ollie Pope (42) for the second wicket and 50 in seven overs with Joe Root for the third. But Harry Brook and Chris Woakes were the only other batters to reach 20 as the innings ended in a clatter of wickets.England are expected to give most of their 16-man squad game time in the match, which is their only warm-up fixture before the first Test in Christchurch, starting on Thursday.