Santner’s all-round heroics hand New Zealand advantage over England in Hamilton Test
Having gained a sizeable lead in the first innings, the Black Caps maintained their ascendancy going into the second innings in the third Test.
New Zealand v England, third Test, Scorecard
Eyeing a win to cap off the three-Test series, New Zealand oozed dominance on second day’s play in Hamilton, leading by 340 runs with seven wickets in hand in their second innings.
Resuming their first innings on Sunday at 315/9, the hosts managed to add vital runs before the fall of their last wicket, finishing at 347.
Mitchell Santner, who had completed his half-century on Day 1, scored 76 from 117 balls before Matthew Potts scalped him for his fourth wicket.
Coming in to bat, England were put under pressure by New Zealand seamers in their opening burst. Matt Henry removed both the openers - Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett - in quick succession.
Will O’Rourke then ran through the England middle order, snapping Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook and Joe Root.
Santner, who had been New Zealand’s top scorer with the bat, also struck thrice before Henry cleaned up the tail as New Zealand strangled the visiting batting lineup - restricting them at 143.
The visitors did manage to produce an early breakthrough via Gus Atkinson, who claimed the Black Caps skipper Tom Latham in his opening spell.
But courtesy of half-centuries from Will Young (60) and Kane Williamson (50*), New Zealand further tightened their grip, closing the day at 136/3 in their second innings.
While England have already clinched the series following wins in Christchurch and Wellington, both the teams are out of contention for a place in next year's ICC World Test Championship Final.