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New Zealand now faces a tough challenge in their fourth innings after struggling against a strong second-wicket partnership of 187 runs. Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett both scored in the 90s, significantly boosting England’s position in the Wellington Test. Their impressive stand left New Zealand in a difficult spot, especially after being dismantled earlier in […]
New Zealand now faces a tough challenge in their fourth innings after struggling against a strong second-wicket partnership of 187 runs. Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett both scored in the 90s, significantly boosting England’s position in the Wellington Test. Their impressive stand left New Zealand in a difficult spot, especially after being dismantled earlier in the day by Gus Atkinson’s hat-trick in the morning session.
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Bethell’s 96, the highest score of his professional career, showcased his impressive talent, but he couldn’t convert it into a century. Tim Southee found his outside edge as Bethell attempted an ambitious drive. Earlier in the over, Bethell had survived a skied pull that fell safely, and nearly dragged the next delivery onto his stumps.
By that point, New Zealand was faced with a record fourth-innings chase, with England’s lead exceeding 350. Bethell outscored his partner, Duckett, who was typically active at the crease. Duckett could have been dismissed on 22 if Tom Blundell had caught a thin edge off Nathan Smith down the leg side. Duckett seemed set for a fifth Test century until Southee dismissed him just before tea, with Duckett’s angled shot deflecting onto his stumps.
Captain Tom Latham rotated his bowlers, but only Will O’Rourke, who bowled at 145 kph (90 mph), looked capable of breaking through England’s solid batting. The pitch at Basin Reserve, which had been lively during the first four sessions, had settled down by then.
Bethell was aggressive, slicing Smith between the wicketkeeper and slip to reach a 52-ball half-century, his second in four innings as England’s No. 3. Duckett quickly followed, reaching his half-century off 58 balls as England maintained a scoring rate of 5 runs per over. Earlier, Gus Atkinson had made history as the first bowler to take a Test hat-trick at Basin Reserve, setting the stage for Bethell and Duckett to pile on the pressure with their rapid partnership.
Six wickets fell in the first hour, bringing the total to 21 in just over three sessions, but England’s second-wicket partnership made an impactful stand. Bethell led the charge, hitting boundaries with ease and quickly establishing England’s dominance after Zak Crawley’s early dismissal in the second over.
Crawley had started aggressively, smashing Southee’s first two balls through the covers, signaling an expected England push after their 155-run lead. However, he was caught by midwicket off Matt Henry’s second delivery, a firm shot that ended his innings. This left Crawley with a poor series record against Henry: 19 balls faced, zero runs, and out four times.
Bethell found his rhythm with two boundaries off Henry and then hit Smith’s second delivery for six. Duckett soon followed with a similar six off Henry as England reached 50 in the ninth over. A dropped catch by Blundell, who failed to hold onto a single, allowed England to maintain momentum. Bethell continued his attacking play, driving the ball through the cordon and pulling Smith into the crowd. Southee was welcomed back into the attack with two quick boundaries as England went into lunch in a strong position.
This performance mirrored their dominance with the ball. Atkinson and Brydon Carse shared five wickets in under 45 minutes, with both taking four wickets as New Zealand crumbled. Apart from Kane Williamson’s 37 on day one, no other New Zealand batter managed to reach 20.
New Zealand resumed with Blundell and nightwatchman O’Rourke. Blundell looked promising for 12 balls, hitting Carse for the first boundary of the day, but was bowled by a perfect delivery from Carse, clipping the top of off-stump. Carse struck again two balls later, trapping O’Rourke lbw.
Smith briefly hinted at a counterattack, timing Carse well for a boundary and following up with a powerful six over midwicket. Glenn Phillips added three quick boundaries, and Smith then drove Atkinson through the covers, pushing the stand to 29 at a run-a-ball rate. However, Atkinson found extra bounce on a tight line and defeated Smith, who under-edged the ball onto his stumps while attempting to leave it.
The innings ended quickly as Atkinson dismissed Henry, who edged a chest-high bouncer to gully. Atkinson then outfoxed Southee by pushing the field back and bowling a full delivery that would have hit the stumps. Southee reviewed, but ball-tracking confirmed it would have struck middle and leg. Atkinson walked off as the first English bowler to take a Test hat-trick since Moeen Ali at The Oval in 2017.
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