Deluge of wickets turn third Test in England’s favour as New Zealand wilt after rain delay

Seeking
a
3-0
whitewash
with
victory
at
Headingley,
England
resumed
play
on
the
third
day
hopeful
Jonny
Bairstow
and
Jamie
Overton
would
steer
them
into
a
first-innings
lead.

Bairstow
added
to
his
overnight
130
to
go
past
150
in
expedient
fashion
and,
though
Overton
(97)
was
denied
a
Test
century
on
debut,
England
claimed
a
lead
of
31
runs
as
they
were
bowled
out
for
360.

1

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Tom
Latham
(76)
produced
his
best
batting
effort
of
a
difficult
series,
but
New
Zealand
slumped
from
152-2
to
168-5
after
a
rain
break
in
the
evening
session
to
leave
Mitchell
and
Blundell
nursing
a
lead
of
137
when
rain
stopped
play.

Bairstow
was
fluent
once
more
after
the
morning
session
got
going,
his
150
the
second-fastest
in
England’s
Test
history
as
it
came
in
144
balls.

Overton
was
evidently
more
nervous
and
his
hopes
of
a
hundred
went
when
he
chased
an
off-stump
delivery
from
Trent
Boult
and
edged
to
first
slip.

Stuart
Broad
(42)
hit
a
barrage
of
boundaries
to
help
England
beyond
350
before
he
and
Bairstow
went
in
successive
balls,
Jack
Leach
the
last
man
to
depart
after
a
pair
of
fours.

Despite
Will
Young’s
early
exit
to
Matthew
Potts
(2-20),
New
Zealand
progressed
serenely
until
the
first
ball
after
tea,
when
Overton
had
Latham
caught
behind.

A
brief
rain
delay
undid
New
Zealand
further.
Ollie
Pope
claimed
a
brilliant
catch
at
short
leg
as
Devon
Conway
fell
to
Joe
Root
and
Potts
drew
an
edge
to
remove
captain
Kane
Williamson
(48),
with
Ben
Stokes’ faith
in
Leach
rewarded
by
the
spinner
dismissing
Henry
Nicholls
(7)
caught
and
bowled
and
giving
Mitchell
and
Blundell
a
recovery
mission.

Quick
work
for
Bairstow

Bairstow,
who
finished
with
162
from
157
balls,
was
the
star
of
the
show
with
the
bat
at
his
home
ground
in
England’s
first
innings.

He
did
most
of
the
damage
on
day
two
but
only
Stokes,
who
did
so
in
135
balls
against
South
Africa
in
2016,
can
claim
to
have
reached
a
Test
150
faster
than
Bairstow,
who
donned
the
wicket-keeping
gloves
for
New
Zealand’s
second
innings
due
to
a
back
problem
for
Ben
Foakes.

Can
New
Zealand’s
dream
team
do
it
again?

Mitchell
and
Blundell
combined
for
a
stand
of
195
in
the
first
Test
and
236
in
the
second.
They
will
likely
need
to
produce
another
fine
partnership
to
help
New
Zealand
post
an
imposing
target
for
England.

Potts,
who
has
now
dismissed
Williamson
in
three
of
the
Black
Caps
skipper’s
four
innings
this
series,
looks
in
the
kind
of
form
to
thwart
them.