On December 7, England’s fast bowler Gus Atkinson made headlines by taking a hat-trick and helping his team dismiss New Zealand for just 125 runs. This strong performance gave England a first-innings lead of 155 runs during the second Test in Wellington.
After losing their opener, Zak Crawley, cheaply, England’s Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell stepped up, guiding their team to 82 for 1 at lunch. Duckett was not out at 39 runs and Bethell had 34 not out, putting England in a powerful position.
New Zealand started the day in trouble at 86 for 5 in response to England’s 280 runs. Brydon Carse, also a young bowler like Atkinson, quickly added to their troubles by dismissing Tom Blundell for 16 runs with a great ball that hit the top of the off stump.
Things got worse for New Zealand when Nighwatchman Will O’Rourke was given out leg before wicket (lbw) for no runs. Atkinson took charge from his end, taking three wickets in a row. He dismissed Nathan Smith, who tried to play a delivery but only managed to hit it onto his own stumps. Next, he bowled Matt Henry for a golden duck (which means he got out on the first ball he faced) with a bouncer that was caught by Duckett at gully. Finally, Atkinson trapped Tim Southee lbw on his first ball.
This hat-trick was a special moment, being the 47th in the history of Test cricket and the first by an England bowler since 2017. England had won the first Test by eight wickets in Christchurch last week, and now the Black Caps need to come up with a fantastic performance to stop England from winning their first series in New Zealand since 2008. The third and final Test will be in Hamilton soon.
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