Ben Stokes said on the eve of this Test that his England team, under his guidance, have been guilty of obsessing too much over next winter’s Ashes. That is a fair cop, and goes against his coach Brendon McCullum’s “be where your feet are” mantra, which is all about not looking too far ahead.

It is easier for Stokes to say that now, at the end of a topsy-turvy year which has seen him regenerate an ageing team for next year’s big series against India and, yes, Australia. He can live in the moment knowing his team is on the right path.

Stokes also knows that this Test represents decent Ashes prep: it is steaming hot in Hamilton, which is a fortress for New Zealand (and especially their best player, Kane Williamson) and a good batting pitch that behaves a bit like Australia’s, with pace, spin later on but generally good for batting. This is also England’s last game with a Kookaburra ball, their bowlers’ old nemesis, before the Ashes.

This trip is only three Tests, not the relentless five that they will have twice next year, but bodies are beginning to fray. Test cricket, as Jamie Smith said this summer, is mentally and physically exhausting, with so much more scrutiny and pressure than any other form of the game. There is no preparation for it. Even Brydon Carse, the great find of the winter who is a superb athlete, suffered with blisters after Wellington and cramp on day one in Hamilton, bowling through the pain. Chris Woakes was rotated out of the side, but you suspect at 35 he might have been struggling to play three on the spin anyway.

All this is why the performance of Woakes’s replacement, Matthew Potts, was so encouraging in just his second Test outside England (the other was in Pakistan, so these conditions were alien to him). England need a deep well of fast bowlers next year, and for those not in the first XI to be ready at any time to come in and perform, as Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett did when Andrew Strauss’s team won down under in 2010-11. Potts, who is a captain’s dream because he is as fit as a butcher’s dog and relishes hard graft, fits the bill perfectly. You could see him playing a similar role to Bresnan, actually.

England’s attack for next year is coming together nicely, with plenty of the high pace options they so crave. Gus Atkinson and Carse seem bankers, while Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue will be a handful if fit. Olly Stone has done well when opportunities arise, and perhaps Jamie Overton or Saqib Mahmood could return to Test cricket in 2025, too. Potts is slower through the air than all of them but is also different in that he is rarely injured. The best ability is availability and all that.

Potts’s bowling is an extension of his personality: honest and earnest. There is “immense pride” in playing for England and a thirst for self-improvement. He spoke glowingly at stumps about how James Anderson, in his role as bowling coach, has worked with him this year, as he has been in and out of the side.

“When you’re not playing, there’s opportunity to tinker with a few things and work on a few things in different conditions,” he said. “I’ve learnt a little bit from James Anderson, doing a bit of run-up work, tinkering with a few deliveries, and building up confidence. I think I’ve added a few strings to my bow. Some variation on how I hold the ball, trying to gain a slight advantage.”

Potts has retained the happy knack he had at the start of his Test career of dismissing the opponent’s best player, and by picking up Kane Williamson for the fourth time in five innings he provided the moment of the day, and set up England’s evening session charge. Williamson was unfortunate, defending delicately under his eyes and watching the ball spin back, but Potts had been hammering away relentlessly and cutely changing his position on the crease.

Potts and Carse have been shaped by the influence of their Durham team-mate Stokes. Potts said Carse has “the heart of a lion”, adding: “I don’t think anything fazes him in terms of pain.” Stokes would have loved that England were unfazed by a wicketless morning session, and that they plugged away so hard that six wickets fell in the last session of the day. Toil was rewarded.

Another crucial factor with an eye on next year is that Stokes bowled 23 overs, more than any of his other quicks, and his biggest workload since his second match in charge, at Trent Bridge in 2022. Stokes bowled so much that Shoaib Bashir was not even required. Having him at full tilt not only balances the team, but lifts it, too.

“Massive plaudits to the skipper,” said Potts. “He bowled three long spells there and one of them was eight overs of bouncers. He can be really proud of his efforts. He leads the team by example. He probably won’t want to take the credit, but when we see him doing special things like that, it motivates you to put in that extra one per cent for the team.”

So, with no more than half an eye on this time next year, thanks to Potts and Stokes, this was a very encouraging day for England.