text: Ben Stokes starred with the ball on the first day of England's warm-up match in St Kitts, but it was the runs of Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott that pleased him most. England dominated against a modest St Kitts & Nevis XI, dismissing them for a paltry 59 inside 27 overs and then compiling 181 for one in reply. The quality of the home batsmen made the first innings seem like little more than a glorified net session, though Stokes still impressed with a lively spell that yielded three wickets for 10. Alastair Cook plays behind square on his way to an unbeaten 95 in the tour match against a St Kitts' XI . Cook and teammate Jonathan Trott talk in between overs during the St Kitts and Nevis Invitational XI game . More important for England's Test prospects, though, was the stand of 158 between Cook (95 not out) and Trott (72). Both men needed the comfort of big runs, Cook having been axed from the one-day side on the eve of the World Cup and Trott on his first England appearance since November 2013 - a period that has seen him battle a case of situational anxiety. He now has the chance to nail down the role of Cook's opening partner and made a solid start in admittedly favourable circumstances. 'Trotty and Cooky gave them nothing and it will stand us in good stead for the Test matches,' said Stokes. Ben Stokes spoke strongly about his team-mates after the two batsmen looked assured at the crease . Stokes had earlier taken three for 10 in an impressive spell with the ball, as England dominated the day . 'The biggest thing for a batsman is time out in the middle. You can do all the training in the nets you want but nothing quite compares to a game and they both did that well today. Trotty has been great, it is almost like he hasn't left. To see him go out and score some runs, the way he has been known to for England over the last five years, was really good to see.' Stokes arguably went over the top in his assessment of Cook's knock, but with the captain having come under pressure for his lack of major scores, it could yet prove an important effort. Stokes described his captain Cook as one of the best players in the world after his return to form . 'It was fantastic for Cooky too,' said Stokes. 'He's been out of the game for a while so to come in and look like the one of the best batsmen in the world, like he once was, was great. The tempo he played at was fantastic and any bad ball he managed to put it away, which was good to see.' For his part, Stokes looks a certainty to return to the Test side in the Caribbean. Having announced himself as an all-rounder of unusual promise in the 2013-14 Ashes, he saw his glittering rise checked by struggles for form and fitness for long periods last year. He did not even make the cut for the World Cup but now has a chance to prove his credentials once again in the longer form. Trott plays to the offside to reach his fifty during the St Kitts and Nevis Invitational XI England tour match . 'It was nice to make an impact back in the first game, even if it was just a warm-up game in an England shirt,' he said. 'I still had the nerves there and it was pretty pleasing to do well. 'I'm still working very hard on getting back into the team, which is what I want to do. Hopefully that is just the start. 'I need performances to back that up. To keep my place I know I need to keep performing, which is something I haven't been consistent with since Australia so hopefully I get a chance in the Test matches here and I can build on that.'
target: Ben Stokes took three wickets for 10 runs as England bowled St Kitts & Nevis XI out for just 59 in tour match .
  Alastair Cook (95*) and Jonathan Trott (72) made big opening stand .
  Stokes praised batsmen, particularly 'one of the best in the world' Cook .