In Wellington on Day 2, Joe Root smashed his 65th Test fifty to put England on a pedestal, while Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell blasted 90s and created an entertaining partnership. The batters then proceeded to bury the hosts under a landslide of runs after Gus Atkinson shocked New Zealand with a hat-trick early on. With a massive 533-run lead at stumps, England easily won.
After starting the day with an overnight total of 86/5, New Zealand was dismissed for a mere 125 after less than 10 overs. With a superb delivery, Brydon Carse squared up and cleaned up Tom Blundell to take the opening wicket of the morning. It was comparable to the ball he bowled to Kane Williamson on the first day, but he went too far that time, making the dismissal void. Blundell, however, was not as fortunate. Carse trapped nightwatmatch William O'Rourke leg before for a 26-ball duck in the same over after bowling him one full and fast.
Atkinson ended the innings quickly, despite Glenn Phillips and Nathan Smith swinging their bats around to help the squad reach the 100-run milestone. Smith inside edged a ball onto the stumps; Matt Henry edged the ball to Duckett at Gully after failing to get out of the way of a short ball first up; Southee was trapped to his crease as a full, skiddy delivery struck him on the front pad. The veteran completed Atkinson's hat-trick of dismissals.
England led by 155 runs in the first innings going into their second dig. It began with two consecutive fours from Zak Crawley, but Henry dismissed him for the fourth time in this series after catching him at mid-wicket in the second over. From this point on, Bethell and Duckett formed a second-wicket partnership that severely damaged New Zealand's morale. Beginning in high gear, they matched one another in locating fours and sixes whenever they felt like it. Tom Latham's hard shot down the leg side gave Duckett a respite. A review of an LBW appeal against Bethell was destroyed by Southee.
When Southee took them both out, they had both reached breezy fifties and were racing for their individual hundreds. Duckett played a ball onto the stumps after the fast bowler got Bethell to nick behind to Latham. Root and Brook got together in the final session to prolong the home team's suffering, so the wickets and the tea break were not exactly the relief New Zealand needed in the match. As another partnership developed, England's lead grew to 400. Lacking ideas, New Zealand lost another review in an attempt to pull Root out of a bind.
Once again, Brook was moving freely, punishing overpitched deliveries through covers and dragging short balls. After Brook mistimed his loft down the ground and hit straight to O'Rourke at long off, Glenn Phillips entered the game for a lengthy stint and removed the first-innings centurion. Root mentioned his 100th 50-plus total (one more than Rahul Dravid) and his 65th Test fifty shortly after. When Henry fired Ollie Pope, England was getting close to a 500-point lead. However, Ben Stokes had no intention of making a declaration. Instead, he tonked his way to an undefeated 36 off 26 till stumps, further frustrating New Zealand. On Day 3, Root reached his 36th Test century after finishing at 73*.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 125 (Kane Williamson 37; Gus Atkinson 4-31, Brydon Carse 4-46) is 533 runs behind England 280 & 378/5 (Jacob Bethell 96, Ben Duckett 92, Joe Root 73*, Harry Brook 55; Tim Southee 2-72, Matt Henry 2-76).
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