England’s Gus Atkinson produced a sensational hat-trick on Saturday, dismantling New Zealand’s lower order and setting the tone for a dominant performance on day two of the second Test in Wellington.
Atkinson’s stunning feat came in the morning session, making him the first England bowler in seven years to claim a Test hat-trick. He bowled Nathan Smith for 14, had Matt Henry caught behind, and trapped Tim Southee LBW in successive deliveries, leaving New Zealand all out for 125.
Atkinson finished with figures of 4/31, sharing the spoils with fellow pacer Brydon Carse, who took 4/46.
New Zealand resumed on 86/5 but could only add 39 runs in the first 40 minutes of play. Carse removed both overnight batters, bowling Tom Blundell for 16 and trapping nightwatchman Will O’Rourke LBW for a 26-ball duck. The Kiwi tail had no answer to Atkinson’s accuracy and pace.
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With a commanding first-innings lead of 155, England’s batters further tightened their grip on the match. Openers Ben Duckett and Zac Crawley started England’s second innings, but Crawley’s lean series continued as he was caught at midwicket off Matt Henry for eight, leaving him with an average of just 10.15 in 19 Test innings against New Zealand.
Undeterred, Duckett and Jacob Bethell counterattacked, adding 73 runs off 82 balls by lunch. Duckett raced to 39 not out, while Bethell, intent on erasing his first-innings disappointment, contributed an unbeaten 34. England reached 82/1 at the break, extending their lead to a formidable 237 runs.
Atkinson’s hat-trick not only highlighted his growing stature in Test cricket but also shifted the momentum firmly in England’s favour. As the visitors eye a series-clinching victory, their bowlers and batters seem to be firing in unison, leaving New Zealand with a mountain to climb heading into the remainder of the Test.
