It took just 42 minutes for England to claim the five remaining Kiwi wickets, wrapping up
yet another dismal batting display by New Zealand.
Carse began the morning continuing his fantastic winter by taking two wickets in just his
second over of the day, finishing with yet another 4-wicket haul – but it was Gus
Atkinson who stole the headlines with a mesmerizing hattrick to wrap up the innings.
Steaming in from the pavilion end, Atkinson forced Smith to clip a length ball onto his
stumps, and followed up the very next delivery by bouncing out Matt Henry, who
spooned the well-placed short ball straight to Ben Duckett at third slip.
Opting to set a field suiting a shorter delivery for his hattrick ball, Atkinson ended up going full, angling
the Kookaburra into the stumps, and trapping Tim Southee on the pads to send the
Basin Reserve into a deafening frenzy. Finishing with figures of 4/31, Atkinson’s magical
start to his Test career continues, joining the likes of Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali in an
esteemed list of players with both a Test Match hundred and a hattrick to their names.
Sandwiched between the continued chaos of the morning, Smith and Glenn Phillips
appeared to lead a resistance for the Blackcaps, making the most of England’s
attacking field, and swinging freely to find the boundary rope on numerous occasions –
but alas, they could only muster enough to drag the New Zealand total to a miserly 125,
allowing England to begin their innings with an overwhelming lead of 155.
It was Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell who punished some lackluster bowling from the
defeated Kiwi attack, following Zak Crawley’s early departure yet again, becoming the
sixth wicket to fall within the first hour of the day. Matt Henry once more was
responsible for Crawley’s early departure marking series figures of 0/4 so far against the
out of form opener. The left-handed duo of Duckett and Bethell clinically dismissed the
Kiwi bowlers, playing the short ball with great effect, as Tom Latham wasted two
reviews early on, in a desperate move to bring his side back into the game.
Both players seemed at ease at the crease, allowing emotions to settle for the first time
in the game by combining for the highest partnership of the match, amassing 187 runs together and shattering any hope of a Kiwi fightback before Bethell found a thin edge,
leaving him stranded on 96 – not before he was hit by a ferocious Will O’Rourke
bouncer when he was on 90. Duckett soon joined Bethell as a victim of the nervous
nineties, as he too found an edge, this time deflecting Tim Southee’s delivery onto his
stumps, ending an assertive knock of 92 – once again showing his class, and proving
why he should not be overlooked amidst such an imposing top order.
Root and Brook, the current two best batsmen in the world, calmly led England into tea,
ending the afternoon session with the total having jumped to 215-3, the English lead
then at 370. They resumed after the break in comfortable fashion, with the only threat
being posed by Will O’Rourke, who challenged the edge of Root early on. The two
Yorkshiremen combined for a soothing partnership of 95, before Brook capped himself
at just 55 runs this time, sending a long hop off the bowling of Glenn Phillips down
O’Rourke’s throat at long off.
Having passed 50 for the first time this series, Root continued to add to England’s
impressive lead, in a far more restrained manner than we have come to expect from the
Stokes-McCullum era, whilst Ollie Pope failed to capitalize on his impressive form so far
this series, pushing at a wide delivery from Matt Henry, and finding Daryll Mitchell at first
slip – leaving the field with just 10 runs to his name.
With the lead past 480, Stokes charged down the track on his first delivery, slapping Henry through mid-wicket for four, and dispatching the quick for six through the same region just two balls later – there
was only one way that the England captain was going to play.
The Blackcaps could only watch as Stokes rode his luck, mercilessly piling on runs and
clearing the boundary twice as he raced to 35 off just 26 balls by the end of the day.
Root did not engage in Stokes’ wild antics, ending the day on 73, with an eye on
notching his 36 th Test match hundred tomorrow morning.
Yet another dominant from England sees them finish on 378-5, with a staggering lead of
533 runs. New Zealand looked utterly deflated walking off the field, as they are resigned
to an imminent series defeat.
