Gus Atkinson yesterday claimed a hat-trick before England’s batsmen let loose to power the visitors 533 runs ahead of New Zealand and in full control of the second Test in Wellington.
The flagging home side will need to chase an enormous score in the fourth innings after England went to stumps at 378-5 on day two.
Captain Ben Stokes resisted any urge to declare, instead cementing England’s position of power as four batters posted half-centuries to build on their first-innings advantage of 155.
Photo: AP
Joe Root was at the crease on 73, while Stokes struck a whirlwind 35 not out against a tiring attack after Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett were both dismissed in the 90s.
The fast-moving nature of the Test means the Black Caps should theoretically have ample time to reach any target, as they bid to square the three-match series after losing the opener in Christchurch by eight wickets.
However, history is firmly against them. The highest successful fourth-innings chase at the Basin Reserve is 274, achieved by Pakistan against the hosts in 2003.
New Zealand’s hopes of getting back into the Test were scuppered in the opening 40 minutes of play when they lost their last five wickets to be all out for 125.
Atkinson (4-31) took the final three wickets with successive deliveries to become the first England player to claim a Test hat-trick since Moeen Ali against South Africa seven years ago.
The 26-year-old seamer was all smiles after bowling Nathan Smith for 14, then having Matt Henry caught in the gully and trapping Tim Southee LBW.
“It was great. As a bowler you think about getting five-fors and 10-fors and that sort of thing,” Atkinson said. “To get a hat-trick, I wasn’t thinking about it too much at all, but there’s not many chances to do it and I was feeling pretty good when I was running in for that third ball.”
“The plan this morning was to go hard at them. It worked out pretty well and the boys did really well with the bat, and we’ve got a pretty healthy lead,” he added.
Atkinson said he was not aware of Stokes’ possible declaration plan, but said he would be ready to go when called upon.
England made batting look comparatively easy, most notably when Bethell (96) and Duckett (92) combined for an untroubled 187-run second-wicket stand.
Bethell fell agonizingly short of a maiden Test ton when edging Southee to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell.
The 21-year-old looked crestfallen as he exited after a 118-ball knock that featured 10 fours and three sixes.
Atkinson said he felt for the Test newcomer.
“It’s a shame, he batted so beautifully. It would have been nice for him to get his first hundred, but he’ll take a lot from that. He was outstanding,” he said.
Opener Duckett was closing on his fifth Test ton when he played-on off Southee (2-72).
In Adelaide, home side Australia were in control of the day-night Test against India after they secured a first-innings lead of 157 in the second Test.
At stumps on day two last night, India were 128-5 in their second innings, still trailing by 29.
In Gqeberha, South Africa and Sri Lanka were evenly poised at lunch on day three of the second Test. Sri Lanka were 318-8 at lunch at press time last night, just 40 runs shy of the hosts’ first-innings total.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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