Christchurch Test: Dominant England completely on top of New Zealand
England completely dominated the proceedings on Day 3 of the ongoing first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch. The visitors were bundled out for 499 in the first innings, with Harry Brook scoring a magnificent 171. His knock helped England gain a substantial lead of 151 runs over NZ. In reply, NZ were off to a poor start as they finished the day at 155/6.
NZ's 2nd innings: Williamson, Ravindra steady the ship
New Zealand's second innings started shakily with Tom Latham and Devon Conway falling early. Rachin Ravindra, who scored 24, threw away his start. However, former skipper Kane Williamson (61) and Daryl Mitchell (31*) steadied the ship by adding 69 runs before the former departed. Tom Blundell (0) and Glenn Phillips (19) were the other Kiwi batters to be dismissed on the day. Pacers Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse took three wickets apiece.
Brook's century: A lifeline for England
Meanwhile, Brook's stunning hundred was the highlight of England's first innings. He capitalized on NZ's fielding lapses, surviving five dropped catches. Brook was dropped on 18, 41, 70, 106 and 147. Despite these setbacks, he managed to score a resilient 171 before being dismissed by Matt Henry. His knock included three sixes and 15 fours, providing a much-needed boost to England's total.
Stokes, Atkinson, and Carse contribute valuable runs
England's captain Ben Stokes also played a valuable knock of 80. Gus Atkinson and Carse contributed with innings of 48 and 33 respectively. These contributions helped England post a competitive first-innings score of 499. For NZ, Henry was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/84 while Nathan Smith took three wickets for 141 runs.
9,000 Test runs for Williamson
Williamson scored 93 in his first outing and backed it up with a 61-run knock. ' En route, he became the first New Zealander to score 9,000 runs in Test cricket. He has now raced to 9,035 runs from 103 Test matches at 54.75. As per ESPNcricinfo, Williamson has managed 1,149 runs across 17 Tests against the English team with the help of four centuries and six fifties. His average is 39.62 in this regard.
Stokes goes past 800 runs vs NZ
Stokes slammed 80 off 146 balls with the help of nine fours. Playing his 108th match, Stokes surpassed 6,600 runs (6,641) at 35.51. He now owns 35 fifties in addition to 13 tons. Versus New Zealand, Stokes has raced to 860 runs across 12 Tests at a fine average of 43. The tally now includes six fifties besides a ton. 438 of his Test runs have come in England at 36.50.
A decent spell from Henry
Henry was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, taking four wickets for 84 runs (23 overs). Last month, the pacer became the joint second-fastest to 100 Test wickets for New Zealand with Neil Wagner (26 matches). Henry, who made his debut in 2015, now has 109 wickets across 28 Tests at 30.42 (5W: 4). As per ESPNcricinfo, 27 of his scalps have come against England at 36.85 as he recorded his best figures against them.
Brook scripts these records
Brook now holds the record for the highest individual Test score by a visiting batter at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. As per ESPNcricinfo, Brook's 171 also puts him fifth on the list of highest individual scores at Hagley Oval in Tests. He smoked 15 fours and three sixes en route to his 197-ball 171. In 22 Tests, the English batter now has 2,102 runs at an incredible average of 60.05. His tally includes nine half-centuries besides seven tons.
