New Zealand steadily squandered a good start, slumping from 172/2 to 231/7 before rallying to 315/9 at stumps on Saturday, the first day of the third Test against England.
Mitchell Santner hit the last ball of the day for six to reach his fourth Test half-century and was 50 not out, while Will O’Rourke had yet to score. The New Zealand tail added 76 runs in the last eight overs of the day to bring some balance back into the game after the failure of the middle order.
After a 105-run opening partnership between Tom Latham and Will Young, New Zealand enjoyed the rare experience of holding the upper hand over England in this series, which so far has been one-sided in favour of the visitors, who hold an unassailable 2-0 lead.
England won the toss and chose to bowl in Hamilton and by lunch, New Zealand were 93/0. At that point, it appeared England captain Ben Stokes might have misread or over-estimated the conditions when he decided to send New Zealand in.
Latham and Young (42) set a sound platform for the New Zealand innings when they put on 105 for the first wicket, the Kiwis’ best opening partnership in 28 Tests. Young was selected in place of Devon Conway whose wife has just given birth to their first child.
Kane Williamson reached 44 on his home pitch on which he averages 94. Then he clamped down on a ball from Matthew Potts which bounced back onto his stumps and he tried vainly to kick it away.
In quick succession New Zealand lost Daryl Mitchell (14), Glenn Phillips (5) and second Test century-maker Tom Blundell (21), all to unwise shots.
Santner and Matt Henry put on 41 for the eighth wicket before Henry (8) was brilliantly caught by Harry Brook off Stokes.
Southee’s sixes
Henry’s dismissal brought out Tim Southee in his 107th and last Test for New Zealand. Southee will retire at the end of the series aged 36 and is New Zealand’s second-highest Test wicket-taker with 389 scalps so far.
Southee achieved an unusual record for a bowler when he equalled Chris Gayle’s tally of sixes in Test cricket to move to the joint-fourth spot in the all-time list with his 98th six. Ben Stokes leads the all-time list with 133 sixes in 110 Tests so far.
Southee, who received a guard of honour from the England fielders when he walked out, hammered three sixes in his quick-fire 10-ball 23.
