Alastair Cook hailed 'world-class' Stuart Broad after England's win over New Zealand at Lord's

England captain Alastair Cook described an on-form Stuart Broad as "an absolute nightmare" for batsmen after his career-best figures blew New Zealand away to claim the first Test Lord's.

Three days of nip-and-tuck cricket between the sides ended in a surprisingly emphatic 170-run win for England as Broad claimed figures of 7-44.

With Broad irresistible, the Black Caps managed just 68 all out in their second innings, leaving Cook to sing Broad's praises.

"He's got all the attributes of being a world-class bowler and when he gets it totally right like he did today he's an absolute nightmare (to face)," said Cook.

"He bowls in the mid to high 90s and swings it away...it's hard to face."
Modest

Broad was modest in his assessment of the match, declaring that his man-of-the-match award should have gone to new ball partner James Anderson, who took seven wickets in the match and passed 300 Test scalps along the way.

"This award should have gone to Jimmy, he was fantastic in this Test, he picked up his 300th wicket and he's a pleasure to bowl with," he said.

"We knew there was enough there for the bowlers. We talked about getting it full enough to give the ball a chance.

"Lord's is a special place to do it, it's great to be back on that honours board.

"I like Lord's, I like the Nursery End. It can be a great place to bat but when conditions are in your favour it can be a great place to bowl."

The margin of victory suggests England go to next week's Test at Headingley in rude health, but Cook concedes there have been times at Lord's when the hosts have not been at their best.

He said: "We've got to look at the really good things we've done. A 170-run win is a pretty big win in Test cricket, but we'll look to improve and there are areas we can do better.

"When we didn't do as well as we'd like we had the character and skill to put it right the next day."