An early stand of 149 from Tom Latham and Devon Conway helped dent England’s victory after they forced New Zealand on to Wellington on the third day of the second Test.
New Zealand captain Tim Southee put up some bold resistance in the Basin Reserve with an entertaining 73 from 49 balls as his side retook at 138-7, but he became the first of Stuart Broad’s casualties in the morning as the Black Caps were dismissed by 209.
England captain Ben Stokes had no hesitation in imposing the run with the hosts needing 226 just to get the tourists batting again, but openers Latham (83) and Conway (61) frustrated the bowlers in the second innings with their partnership in the third century in Test cricket.
Conway and Latham finally departed in quick succession for spinners Jack Leach and Joe Root respectively just after tea, with Will Young also being dismissed for just eight, but Henry Nicholls and Kane Williamson saw New Zealand through to the finish in 202- 3 – still 24 shy of getting England to bat again.
story of the day
England started the morning of the third day needing just three wickets to see the hosts out, but Southee were determined to pick up where they left off the night before with some big hitting – including bringing their half-century to a head with a six back on the ground in sixth hour of the day.
However, Broad removed the New Zealand captain on his first finish when Southee hit one to Zak Crawley in the middle of just one ball after being fouled by Leach on the leg-side boundary. Leach made amends two overs later, however, when he caught Tom Blundell (38) at half after the wicketkeeper came galloping down the lane to Broad.
Henry’s dismissal ensured that the seamer, who also represented Michael Bracewell at the end of the second day, finished with figures of 4-61 and left New Zealand still 226 away from getting England to bat again.
It was perhaps unsurprising that Stokes quickly chose to impose the run, but openers Latham and Conway combined some dogged defense with judicious shot selection to mount an impressive comeback and ultimately ensure that England would have to wait at least another day. to end the game. victory in this game and a 2-0 series triumph.
Perhaps most frustrating for England’s triumvirate of Broad, James Anderson and Ollie Robinson was that they were finding edges and asking batsmen a lot of questions, although often those edges didn’t make it to slips.
Latham, who had passed the 5,000-run mark in Test cricket during his innings, was the first to reach the half-century mark – his 26th 50 in Tests – the 41st and Conway scored his sixth Test 50 in the following.
By tea the pair had guided New Zealand to 128 unbeaten, but the combination of left spinner Leach and fielder Ollie Pope broke the stand four overs in the evening session when Conway opened one to be caught.
Jack Leach claimed two wickets for England in the evening session
Root’s off-spin accounted for Latham three overs later when he trapped him lbw and Young fell to Leach just after courtesy of him being bowled from a sumptuous delivery that finished off the right-hander.
However, Williamson (25 not out) and Nicholls (18 not out) struggled to take New Zealand to the end, with even England having the new ball in the last three overs of the day, unable to dislodge any of them. .
‘It was an exciting day’
England assistant coach Paul Collingwood speaking to BT Sport…
“They (New Zealand) fought hard, it was an emotional day. You’ll have days like this – we had it all today.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get the wickets today but they fought hard and we are still in a good position.
“I don’t think the captain wasn’t thinking about not applying the run. There was no doubt – he came in and said he wanted to win the game. It’s been hard work; hopefully tomorrow morning we can take the wickets.”
Follow England’s second and final Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Sky Sports’ digital platforms, with coverage continuing from 9.30pm on Sunday evening.