New Zealand failed to capitalise on a rock-steady start to reach 315-9 on day one of the third and final Test against England in Hamilton on Saturday. Led by seamers Matthew Potts and Gus Atkinson, the tourists fought back with the ball after openers Tom Latham (63) and Will Young (42) put on 105 for the opening stand, having been asked to bat. However, the hard early work was undone by a flurry of loose shots in the afternoon as six wickets fell for 89 runs at Seddon Park.
Late hitting from Mitchell Santner handed some momentum back to the home side, including a straight six off the day's final ball to raise a half-century. Santner will resume on 50 not out, alongside the scoreless Will O'Rourke. England's goal of completing a 3-0 series clean sweep was kept alive by some disciplined seam bowling.
Potts (3-75) impressed by removing top-scorer Latham and danger man Kane Williamson (44) to celebrate his recall at the expense of Chris Woakes. Atkinson (3-55) took his career tally to 51 wickets, second only to Australian seamer Terry Alderman's 54 wickets in 1981 for the most Test scalps in a debut year. Atkinson was among those to benefit from New Zealand's reckless middle-order batting.
Rachin Ravindra (18), Daryl Mitchell (14), Tom Blundell (21) and Glenn Phillips (5) were all caught by fielders on the off-side when failing to keep the ball down. It reflected a do-or-die approach, with 228 runs - or 72 percent of their total - coming through boundaries. Earlier, Latham and Yo.
