Gus Atkinson’s hat-trick gives England edge over New Zealand

The Surrey pacer dismissed Nathan Smith, Matt Henry and Tim Southee with consecutive deliveries in his ninth over

Wellington: Gus Atkinson became the first England bowler since 2017 to complete a hat-trick in test cricket on Saturday when he claimed the last three wickets of New Zealand’s first innings before lunch on the second day of the second test.

The Surrey pacer dismissed Nathan Smith, Matt Henry and Tim Southee with consecutive deliveries in his ninth over as England bowled out New Zealand for 125 to take a 155-run first-innings lead. England leads the three-match series 1-0 after winning the first test by eight wickets.

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At lunch and after facing only 15 overs, England was 82-1, having increased its lead to 237. Ben Duckett was 39 not out and Jacob Bethell was 34. Atkinson was the 15th Englishman and the first since Moeen Ali against South Africa in 2017 to complete a test hat-trick. He was the first to do so at the Basin Reserve.

Atkinson bowled Smith (14) with the third ball of the 35th over of the innings. Smith dangled his bat at a delivery wide of off stump, tried too late to leave the ball but managed only to deflect it onto his stumps.

That brought out Henry, a competent batter with an average of almost 20 in tests, who received a ball which bounced sharply from just short of a length and reached chest high. Henry tried to fend the ball away but it skewed from the splice to Duckett in the gully.

That left Southee to face the hat-trick ball. The veteran seamer in his last test series averages 15.6 and has hit 95 sixes in an illustrious career. Southee clearly was expecting another short ball, the field was set for it. But the delivery from Atkinson was full and straight, struck the batter on the front pad and clearly was going on to hit middle stump. Umpire Rod Tucker didn’t hesitate in raising his finger.

Atkinson is a statistical marvel who, in just his 10th test, has taken 12 wickets in an innings (12-106 against the West Indies at Lord’s in July ) and scored a century (118 against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in August ). He now adds a hat-trick to that already impressive resume. New Zealand resumed Friday at 86-5 in reply to England’s first innings of 280 in which Harry Brook made 123.

Tom Blundell who was 7 not out overnight was bowled by Brydon Carse in the fourth over of the day when he was 16. The ball beat Blundell’s defensive shot and hit the top of off stump. Nightwatchman Will O’Rourke (0) was out two balls later, trapped lbw by Carse. Then Atkinson swept through the tail as England ended the New Zealand innings in only 8.5 overs on the second morning.

New Zealand picked up the wicket of Zak Crawley before lunch, caught by Devon Conway at mid-wicket off Henry. By lunch 21 wickets had fallen in four sessions.