Tea New Zealand 125 and 199 for 6 (Blundell 86*, Smith 25*) need 524 more to overcome England 280 and 427 for December 6 (Root 106, Bethell 96, Duckett 92, Brook 55)
Gus Atkinson and Shoaib Bashir took a wicket each as New Zealand reached the interval six down and still needed almost 400 to win. Daryl Mitchell fell behind to Atkinson after a firm 47-run partnership with Blundell; Glenn Phillips then came and got out for 16 off 11 balls, bowling back to Bashir.
While New Zealand’s hopes of saving the game diminished, the home fans at Basin Reserve had something to cheer about with Blundell’s fighting knock – his highest score since scoring 90 on this ground in the famous one-run victory over England in early 2023.
He survived a great chance to take third slip off his third ball, a thick edge that went through the hands of Jacob Bethell as he drove towards Brydon Carse. The next ball was bowled to deep mid-wicket for six, and he continued to be proactive as Mitchell dug in to frustrate England for over an hour after lunch.
Mitchell’s dismissal sparked a spike in aggression, Bashir bowled twice and then Atkinson headed four to raise a half-century off 56 balls. The boundaries continued to flow, first in a brief partnership with Phillips and then alongside Nathan Smith: the selection of a monstrous direct hit from Blundell that resulted in the ball being lost. They lifted New Zealand’s first fifty of the match, off just 38 balls, while England were forced to bide their time in search of a three-day victory.
That only increased when Woakes, pitching into a strong wind, struck with his seventh pitch. Devon Conway may have made it look better than it was, leaving a huge gap between bat and pad, but there was a lot to admire in Woakes’ swinging, top-kissing seam backer.
Woakes then claimed the scalp of Kane Williamson with one that he kicked and set up the New Zealand No. 3 for a good lead towards Ollie Pope.
Tom Latham removed three boundaries before becoming the third wicket to fall, Carse acrobatically diving to his right on his follow-through to take a return catch from a leading edge. Daryl Mitchell offered bristling resistance, but the score became 59 for 4 when Carse had Rachin Ravindra behind him trying to force a cut, the batsman staring at the sky as the rain began to fall.
Earlier, England batted for 6.3 overs before declaring their innings closed. That was enough time for Root to achieve his 36th Test, and his dismissal two balls later allowed Ben Stokes to pull the plug.
The morning session arrived with Wellington’s famous winds whipping across the ground, but they are unlikely to blow England off course; Their record second innings lead of 533 after two days of play was a clear indicator of which team was on top.
Stokes had attacked the pickets from the start on the second night, and began by stealing two off Will O’Rourke’s first pitch. Not many came out of the middle at first, but with New Zealand stretching the field, easy runs were offered for the sixth-wicket pair.
Matt Henry missed a great return chance off a Stokes drive in the second over, before Root hit the first boundary through midwicket. He picked up two more fours in Henry’s next over to move into the 90s, another look from O’Rourke and then persuaded New Zealand to take the second new ball.
Root had batted serenely and headed for his favorite shot with the century in sight. This time the reverse ramp came off his gloved hand as he fell at the crease, but he passed Tom Blundell and bounced for four to go up three figures, a cheeky smile on the face of England’s record scorer.
He hit the next ball in orthodox style from long distance, before Blundell kept a thick edge well to give a wicket to the deserving O’Rourke. At that point, Root and Stokes charged forward, ready to hit the ground running in England’s quest for 10 wickets.
Alan Gardner is deputy editor of ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick
