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Live sport on SN this weekendBlackcaps build imposing lead over England to end dominant day two
Sport Nation • December 15th, 2024 6:30 pm
Photo: Photosport
The Blackcaps have headed to stumps on day two armed with an increasingly imposing lead against England.
Will Young provided the anchor for the New Zealanders with a clinical 60, before falling late in the day to end an 89-run partnership with Kane Williamson (50*), the team closing at 136/3 - a surplus of 340 runs.
It rounded out the most dominant day of the series for the Kiwis, who now have plenty of time on their hands to post a hefty second-innings target.
Williamson reached his 50 off just 57 balls, with eight fours, and will resume on day three alongside Rachin Ravindra (2*).
With the score at 18/0, England looked to have had the early breakthrough they needed when Young was given out LBW, only for a review to reveal the ball was angling far enough to miss leg stump.
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Eventually, Tom Latham (19) was the first to depart, chopping a ball from Gus Atkinson on to his own stumps.
Young continued to impress, this time in his new role as an opener, reaching his 10th Test half-century from 72 balls, including sevens centuries, as Williamson helped him push New Zealand past 100.
But a late lapse of concentration enticed Young into a trap, pulling to Jacob Bethell off Ben Stokes with 20 minutes of play remaining.
The decision to bring Will O'Rourke out in the nightwatchman role backfired, with the towering seamer edging behind to give Stokes his second of the day.
Stokes finished with 2/42, with Atkinson (1/10) snaring England's other wicket of the innings.
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Blackcaps attack rips through England to secure big first-innings lead
The Blackcaps bowlers tore through the England bats after lunch, dismissing them for a paltry 143 to take a 204-run lead into tea.
A brilliant spell by Will O'Rourke, who struck in consecutive balls to dispatch Jacob Bethell and dangerman Harry Brook - who departed for a duck - set the tone for his cohorts, with Mitchell Santner snaring a rapid-fire three wickets in as many overs and Matt Henry claiming four to topple the tourists.
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In the sixth over after the resumption of play, Will O'Rourke got the first breakthrough for the Blackcaps, enticing Jacob Bethell into an uncontrolled cut shot that was well taken by Glenn Phillips at backward point.
That immediately became two, when the red-hot Harry Brook chopped O'Rourke's next delivery onto his own stumps, leaving England teetering at 77/4.
Another English dangerman followed just two overs later, O'Rourke cramping him as he attempted to ramp one over the slip cordon but only managing to find the safe hands of Will Young.
Photo: Photosport
That brought captain Ben Stokes to the crease, with his side in peril at 82/5.
After a period of resistance from Stokes and Pope, the decision to introduce Mitchell Santner into the attack for the first time since his heroics in Pune paid dividends.
Santner found Ollie Pope's outside edge with his fifth delivery, then trapped Stokes LBW two balls later to have England reeling for 137/7.
Henry soon had England's eighth, forcing Gus Atkinson to spoon a catch to mid-on.
Santner had his third in less than three overs, capturing Carse caught and bowled and reducing the tourists to 141/9, before Henry added the finishing touches for a well-deserved fourth of the day.
Henry finished with figures of 4/48, with Santner (3/7 off three overs) and O'Rourke (3/33) contributing three apiece.
Blackcaps strike twice early as England begin chase on day two
England were 54/2 at the lunch break, but a fast start from their openers saw Tim Southee give up four fours in his first over was quickly forgotten with the loss of two wickets putting some pressure on Brendon McCullum’s side.
Henry continued to haunt Zak Crawley (21), drawing the towering opener into a leading edge and taking a superb catch off his own bowling, managing to get his fingers between the ball and the turf to claim his scalp for the fifth time in the series.
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Henry struck again in the same over, dismissing Ben Duckett (11) via LBW to give the Blackcaps’ bowling attack some confidence on a pitch that looks to be offering up plenty of runs if the English want to take them. Scoring at a rate of 5.4 per over, the deficit could dwindle quickly as the afternoon carries on.
Blackcaps set first-innings target for England after handy late stand
The Blackcaps have been bowled out for 347.
Santner and No. 11 Will O'Rourke hung around long enough to become an annoyance for the visitors, taking advantage of some curiously passive fields to add 32 runs to their overnight total in just over an hour of play.
Santner walked off as New Zealand's top scorer, his 76 coming from 117 balls including 10 fours and two sixes, eventually bowled by Matthew Potts. O'Rourke carried his bat for 5 - equalling his highest Test score.
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The pair combined for a very handy 10th wicket partnership of 44 - the second highest of the innings - adding some valuable runs to the end of the NZ total and keeping the English sweating under the hot Hamilton sun.
Potts finished the pick the England bowlers with 4/90 off 28.1 overs, while Gus Atkinson added 3/66 off 26.
Sport Nation has live ball-by-ball commentary of all the second Test between the Blackcaps and England - available on all NZ frequencies and the new Sport Nation app - available on App Store and Google Play.
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