Tea – New Zealand 348 (Williamson 93, Phillips 58*, Carse 4-64, Bashir 4-69) and 62 for 2 trail England 499 (Brook 171, Stokes 80, Pope 77, Henry 4-84) by 89 runs
England’s seamers followed the lead of their belligerent batters with two quick wickets in New Zealand’s second innings, to take firm control of the first Test at Hagley Oval.
Woakes, who went wicketless in New Zealand’s first-innings 348, this time struck with his ninth delivery, as Latham played fractionally across the line to a wobble-seam delivery that straightened into his edge and looped to Harry Brook at second slip for 1.
Stokes had been the quieter partner on the second day, during the first 97 runs of his sixth-wicket stand with Brook, but with six overs remaining until the second new ball, his wild response to Will O’Rourke’s first over of the day made it clear that his team would not be caught cold under the morning cloud cover, as had been the case in their stuttering start to the innings.
Brook took his cue with two powerful drives for four to get his own innings moving again, but having survived four drops on the second day, he was gifted a fifth life on 147. Glenn Phillips – who had handed him his first reprieve on 18 before grabbing a screamer to dislodge Ollie Pope – made a mess of another relatively straightforward catch that bounced out of his grasp at gully.
Woakes didn’t hang around long, as Southee found his edge for 1 with a trademark outswinger that Latham – the spiller of three chances on day two – scooped up low at second slip. But England have brought some rare batting depth to this Test, and Atkinson – a centurion against Sri Lanka in the summer – and Carse each came out swinging from the get-go.
Atkinson brought up England’s 400 with a swivelled pull for six over square leg off Henry, and had just added his second over fine leg when he took on the short ball once too often, and picked out Phillips in the deep to hand Smith the third of his debut innings. Stokes took this as his cue to revert to the belligerent strokeplay with which he had launched the session, crisply pulling O’Rourke through midwicket to reach the break within sight of a century in the city of his birth.
This didn’t come to pass, as he threw his head back in frustration after clobbering Henry straight to Southee in the deep. But Carse’s brutal hitting – which included an outrageous, wristy lap over deep fine leg for one of his three sixes meant the lead swelled past 150, before Shoaib Bashir’s ill-advised leg-side swipe landed in Southee’s hands to earn Henry a fourth wicket.
Carse was left unbeaten on 33 off 24 balls, though he was dropped off his sixth ball by Phillips in the over after lunch. It was one of Phillips’ three drops, alongside two catches, with New Zealand shelling as many as eight in total across England’s innings.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket
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