New Zealand facing record fourth-innings chase as tourists pile on the pain
Alan Gardner06-Dec-2024England have not won a Test series in New Zealand since 2007-08 but they are surely within sight of breaking that drought after a day of utter dominance at Basin Reserve. It was littered with landmarks and milestones: Gus Atkinson’s hat-trick, Jacob Bethell’s highest first-class score, Joe Root reaching 50 in a Test innings for the 100th time. With three days left in the game, New Zealand already face being set a record fourth-innings chase.Having wrestled their way into the ascendency on a topsy-turvy opening day, they pinned New Zealand to the canvas from the outset. Atkinson and Brydon Carse utilised what juice remained in the pitch to blow through the last five New Zealand wickets, securing a 155-run lead on first innings. Bethell and Ben Duckett then thrashed 187 runs in partnership to put England in a seemingly impregnable position just five sessions into the Test.Bethell’s contribution was bittersweet, as he fell four runs short of a first hundred in any format. He nevertheless confirmed the range of his talent, in his second Test and batting at No. 3 for only the fourth time. He drove the scoreboard on after Zak Crawley had fallen in the second over – dismissed by Matt Henry for the fourth innings in succession – and outscored his partner during a free-flowing stand that went at more than 5 an over.Nathan Smith bore the brunt of their initial onslaught, Bethell twice hooking him into the crowd and also proving strong on the drive. He survived when slashing Smith between keeper and slip, with Daryl Mitchell stood wide, on the way to a 52-ball half-century, and was not afraid to chance his arm as the second-wicket pair cemented England’s position.Only on entering the 90s for the second time in his first-class career, and having copped a blow from a Will O’Rourke short ball the over before, did Bethell betray signs of nerves. A skied pull off Tim Southee landed in no-man’s land, then he nearly chopped on next ball. Four dabbed through third took him within range of a memorable Test century only to be caught behind aiming an expansive drive.England’s lead was already past 350 and although Duckett, who was dropped by Tom Blundell down the leg side on 22, also failed to convert after a busy innings ended with a deflection on to his stumps off Southee, there was no let up for the home side after tea as Root and Harry Brook added 95 in untroubled fashion. Brook brought up his sixth 50-plus score in seven Test innings against New Zealand, before holing out off the bowling of Glenn Phillips, while Root also bobbed along to another half-century and into rarified company.Gus Atkinson spreads his arms after pinning Tim Southee for his hat-trick•Getty Images
After Ollie Pope fell cheaply, Ben Stokes strode out and threw the bat for another fifty partnership from just 39 balls, suggesting that a declaration may not be far away. While New Zealand have achieved some great escapes in recent memory, not least when the man who now coaches England, Brendon McCullum, helped them to amass 680 for 8 against India at this ground a decade ago, and their pitches have a habit of flattening out, there’s no doubt they were deep in the hole.One measure of how the day had gone for New Zealand was that their five-man attack managed to bowl zero maidens. Another was that none of their remaining batters faced more than Phillips’ 16 balls as they were steamrollered during the morning session.Atkinson took the plaudits, adding a chapter to the storied history of Wellington cricket by becoming the first man to take a Test hat-trick at Basin Reserve. It was the latest accolade in a stunning start to the 26-year-old’s Test career, less than six months on from claiming a 12-wicket haul on debut. It made him the seventh player to record a ten-for, a hundred (achieved against Sri Lanka, in his fifth appearance) and a hat-trick, and in only his 10th Test – well ahead of the next-quickest, Johnny Briggs (18 matches).Both Atkinson and Carse claimed four-fors as New Zealand collapsed inside 45 minutes of the morning session. After Kane Williamson’s 37 on day one, no other New Zealand batter made it to 20.They had resumed their innings with Blundell batting alongside nightwatcher O’Rourke. Blundell shaped up nicely, only to be summarily dispatched in Carse’s second over as the bowler produced a beauty to hit the top of off. It was practically identical to the “no-ball of the century” that almost did for Williamson on the previous evening, only this time without any concerns around his front foot.Two balls later, O’Rourke propped forward hopefully and was trapped plumb in front of middle. Smith and Phillips briefly suggested a counterattack might materialise with a stand of 29 at more than a run a ball. But Atkinson found extra bounce on a tight line to defeat Smith, who underedged on to his stumps attempting to leave.Then came the , as Atkinson had Henry fending a chest-high bumper to gully and then bluffed Southee by pushing the field back then going full and straight at the stumps. Southee reviewed with a forlorn glance, ball-tracking confirming it would have hit middle and leg – and Atkinson walked off as the first Englishman to take a Test hat-trick since Moeen Ali at The Oval in 2017.