MICHAEL ATHERTON wore the megawatt grin more usually associated with the beneficiary of an unexpected acquittal. The England captain has struggled with his timing all winter, but not in Wellington yesterday as his side's first Test victory overseas for two years was performed before the most important of all possible audiences: The Boss.

Lord MacLaurin, the new chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, also wore a full beam smile to brighten the glum skies above the Basin Reserve.

The man who made his name by taking the Tesco chain upmarket and who now has a similar brief with English cricket was understandably impressed by a muscular, all round performance from the England team which gave them victory over New Zealand in the Second Test by an innings and 68 runs.

The position of Atherton and the England coach, David Lloyd, has attracted increasing speculation in this rather gaffe strewn winter, but after yesterday's win MacLaurin said: "I'm very pleased for the team and for Mike Atherton and David Lloyd. It was a very disappointing tour of Zimbabwe and this was a good time to win. It means a tremendous amount.

"I'm more pleased for Mike Atherton than anyone. He's a very good captain, a strong character and an extremely nice man. I hope he now leads the team to more success. There is no pressure on him. He has my full support.

"I really do believe we want some consistency, and it will make his life a lot easier if I can get my act right and the administration right."

Atherton is unlikely to become an outstanding captain; there is too much tactical ordinariness and negativity for that. But even after this troubled winter it is clear that he commands the respect and affection of his players, and he now only needs a strong performance in the Third Test in Christchurch, and to avoid humiliation in the five one day matches that follow, to be once again favourite to lead in next summer's Ashes series.

Atherton also received strong words of support from Lloyd. There have been recent times when Lloyd has looked distinctly under dressed when speaking without a red squashy nose, a painted face and a large check coat over loose braces, but yesterday he talked with a rather touching combination of emotion and common sense and it was difficult not to warm to the man.

Sometime after it was all over, and England had won their first international match of the winter at the seventh attempt, Lloyd's taut features softened with relief as he contemplated a gentle landscape free from the familiar landmarks of rancour and recrimination.

"It's certainly a relief to win, he said. "We've worked hard and I'm so pleased for the lads. I've also been aware of a lot of criticism mounting, particularly on myself and the captain. But I would most definitely like to see Michael captain next season. We are making progress. Sometimes it is slow, but this match was very good.

"Mike is a tough old sod and he should carry on. He's a strong character who never wavers and he's been a terrific leader in this Test. He's a caring captain who looks after his players, but if someone doesn't pull up his straps he can come down hard. When we didn't win in Auckland it felt like the world had caved in on us but I'm delighted that we managed to set a good standard throughout this game.

"The lads were a bit jumpy this morning when they saw the clouds and the covers on and the rain in the air, but we came through it. New Zealand will come at us like a train in the next Test but we will be ready for them."

England had won, and won so well that somehow it did not matter that they had beaten the weakest of the nine Test playing nations. Those embarrassing defeats in Mashonaland and Wanganui might have inspired the thought (with apologies to Rupert Brooke) "If I should lose think only this of me; that there's some corner of a foreign field that is forever England." But suddenly those humiliations seemed far away.

The whole team played well, with the possible exceptions of Nick Knight, Dominic Cork and Phil Tufnell, and even they did not play badly. There was consistency in the batting, sustained brilliance in the field and an enduring hostility in the varied bowling; New Zealand were outclassed from the first session, and even though this match may not be a reliable pointer to what will happen against Australia and, West Indies, it did bring with it the hope of better times.

Atherton himself said: "We went so close in Bulawayo and Auckland that it's a great relief to win here. The pitch here was not as flat as that at Eden Park and the tail enders were never likely to hang around on it. I always felt that three or four hours cricket today would be enough.

"Alec Stewart is such a pivotal player for us. While things are going so brilliantly for him it helps us play three seamers and two spinners. Cork has been our best strike bowler for over a year but he needs support. Here he got it from Darren Gough and Andy Caddick. I felt that Caddy would give us a bit extra with the new ball and he did."

New Zealand resumed on 125 for four yesterday, needing another 134 to make England bat again. They were eight wickets down at lunch, just as they had been at Auckland, but this was a more professional England performance on a more encouraging surface. New Zealand, with stories of late nights and ball tampering adding to their malaise, were bowled out for 191 half an hour after lunch.

Gough returned figures of four for 52 to give him his Test best analysis of nine for 92, and only Blair Pocock, who batted for five hours 38 minutes, offered prolonged resistance.