Gus Atkinson claimed a hat-trick as England took complete control of the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington, closing day two on 378-5 in their second innings and with a massive lead of 533.
Few teams will have enjoyed as utterly dominant a day’s Test cricket as England on Saturday at the Basin Reserve, with firstly New Zealand’s final five wickets fired out for the addition of only 39 runs – Atkinson’s starring moment wrapping the innings for 125.
Working with a sizeable first-innings advantage of 155, Ben Duckett (92), Jacob Bethell (96), Joe Root (73no) and Harry Brook (55) then all hit half-centuries for the visitors, while skipper Ben Stokes ended the day with a quick-fire – if at times a little chaotic – 35 off 26 balls to perhaps set up an overnight declaration.
The only disappointment from an England point of view will be the dismissals of both Duckett and Bethell in the nineties, the latter denied a maiden first-class ton, let alone a first in Tests in only his second appearance, when the 21-year-old was dismissed by Tim Southee (2-72) four agonising runs shy of the landmark.
The poor form of Zak Crawley (8) too continues to be a concern, with Matt Henry (2-76) dismissing the England opener for a fourth time in the series without conceding a single run to him.
But there could be little to dampen England’s mood as, already 1-0 up, they romp towards a most emphatic of series wins – and a first in New Zealand since 2008 – with their lead more than 100 clear of the highest successful run-chase in Test history, the West Indies’ 418 versus Australia in 2003.
Atkinson makes history with Test hat-trick
New Zealand, some 194 runs still in arrears at 86-5 overnight, suffered the worst possible start to the second morning when the impressive Brydon Carse (4-46) bowled Tom Blundell (16) with an absolute beauty in the second over of the day.
The hosts may well have accounted for an early blow, given nightwatchman Will O’Rourke started the day at the crease, but Blundell’s departure cheaply – his outside edge beaten and off stump pegged back – plus the dismissal of O’Rourke, lbw for a duck, two balls later was too much for them to recover from.
Glenn Phillips (16no) and Nathan Smith (14) struck a couple of lusty blows to briefly threaten a Black Caps comeback, but the innings was then ended in a blink of an eye courtesy of Atkinson’s history-making burst.
The seamer first uprooted Smith’s middle stump via the batter’s inside edge, then had Henry backing away from a short ball that he could only fend to gully, while Southee – with the field set back for the short ball – had no answer to a full, fast and straight bluff from the bowler that smashed into his front pad.
Atkinson’s is the 50th Test hat-trick in world cricket – 47 in the men’s game and three in the women’s – and 15th for England, continuing the 26-year-old’s remarkable start to his Test career which has seen him take seven-for as part of a 12-wicket haul on debut against the West Indies at Lord’s, as well as smash a maiden first-class hundred at the same ground against Sri Lanka later in the summer.
The last player to take a hat-trick in Tests was South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj in 2021, with Moeen Ali the most recent to do so for England, against the Proteas at The Oval in 2017.
Stuart Broad took two in his career, making Atkinson (4-31) the 14th England player on the list. Matthew Hoggard and Ryan Sidebottom are the only other two England players this century to claim a Test hat-trick.
Root reaches yet another Test milestone
Armed with a lead of 155, England suffered an early blow in their second innings as Crawley’s miserable run against New Zealand continued. The opener averages only 10.15 in 10 Tests against the Black Caps, with Henry (2-76) yet again having his number in this series – albeit his downfall on this occasion coming via a loose clip straight to midwicket, as opposed to any particularly skilful work on the part of the seamer.
Any hopes from the home support that wicket might spark a fightback were quickly extinguished by a scintillating 187-run partnership for the second wicket between Duckett and Bethell, who continues to look at home in the Test arena despite his tender years and modest first-class average in the mid-20s coming into his debut series.
Both batters appeared destined for hundreds, only for Bethell to fall four short, thick-edging a drive off Southee (2-72) behind when eyeing up the boundary to take him there. Duckett too departed to the veteran seamer four overs later, eight shy of a fifth Test ton as he chopped one back onto his stumps.
Joe Root became only the fourth batter in Test history to notch 100 scores of fifty or more with his unbeaten half-century on day two
Again though, England’s momentum would not be halted, with Root and Brook both notching half centuries – the former’s taking him to a 100th score of fifty plus in Tests, becoming only the fourth player to do so after Sachin Tendulkar (119), Jacques Kallis (103) and Ricky Ponting (103).
Brook eventually perished when taking on Phillips (1-75), trying but failing to clear long-off, while Ollie Pope (10) nicked one to slip, but Root remains unbeaten overnight along with Stokes, who smashed his first ball for four, his third for six and his sixth for another maximum in an explosive start to his cameo late in the day.
The England captain didn’t middle much thereafter, however, as he became a touch slog-happy in the pursuit of quick runs to set up a declaration either overnight or early on the third morning.
Atkinson: I felt pretty confident over hat-trick
England seamer Gus Atkinson (4-31), after taking 15th England hat-trick in Tests:
“I wasn’t thinking too much at all about a hat-trick – as a bowler you think about five-fors, 10-fors, that sort of thing – but there’s not many chances when you’re on two wickets from two balls.
“I felt pretty confident as I was running in for that third ball that I had a good chance of getting it.
Gus Atkinson celebrates his hat-trick moment as he took the 15th for England in Test cricket
“I fully went for the bluff. I was just thinking about bowling a yorker, getting it full and straight, go for the stumps. There was no discussion over what ball I was bowling.
“You always want to get more and be greedy, take as many as you can and that’s something I want to try and do in the future.
“It’s been a great year for me personally and hopefully I can get a few more milestones to help the team.”
‘Bethell looks to the manor born at number three’
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Ian Ward was impressed by Jacob Bethell’s composure after he scored 96 for England on Day two of their second Test in New Zealand and believes his form could cause selection headaches
Sky Sports’ Ian Ward:
“It could not have gone any better for England. It couldn’t have gone any better for England since they started this series, to be honest – they really haven’t put a foot wrong.
“It was a remarkable day for two incredibly young, talented cricketers. Fantastic for Gus Atkinson to take that hat-trick – he’s now got a five-for, a Test match hundred and a hat-trick.
“And Jacob Bethell, it’s a small sample size, I know, but he just looks to the manor born at number three.
“It was just a shame he could get three figures. For the first time he looked a little nervous when that big carrot was put in front of him.”
