Joe Root ticked off his 36th Test century before four cheap wickets left England roaring towards a series-clinching win over New Zealand in Wellington.
Joe Root moved joint fifth on the all-time list of hundred scorers on the third morning of an increasingly one-sided second Test, tied with India’s Rahul Dravid, as he notched his sixth of the year.
His dismissal for 106 saw England declare with a massive lead of 582, before New Zealand’s brittle batting lineup limped to 59 for four in response.
There was no time pressure for the tourists to bring their innings to a close but Ben Stokes decided he had seen enough at 427 for six, handing the stage to his bowlers to finish things off.
The experienced Chris Woakes ensured he would not regret it, dismissing opener Devon Conway and star batter Kane Williamson in a clinical five-over burst.
And we've declared 🤝
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 7, 2024
Joe Root nicks off and Ben Stokes says enough's enough. We lead by 5️⃣8️⃣2️⃣ runs in Wellington.
🏴 4️⃣2️⃣7️⃣-6️⃣ (dec) pic.twitter.com/5obxXK8sZR
Brydon Carse followed up with two more, home captain Tom Latham and Rachin Ravindra joining the exodus.
England’s position already looked impregnable at the start of play, 533 ahead and with five second-innings wickets still in hand.
Incredibly, after just two days of action, they found themselves weighing up their likely declaration. First, though, they wanted Root to reach his landmark.
He did not keep his team-mates waiting for long, converting his overnight 73 in just 21 balls. With New Zealand going through the motions he helped himself to five boundaries, the last of which brought took him to his hundred in brazen fashion.
On 98 he dropped to his knees to play the reverse ramp against Will O’Rourke, tumbling to the floor and just clearing the wicketkeeper. It was hardly his most elegant moment but he saw the funny side, grinning as he charged to celebrate with Stokes at the non-striker’s end.
Root hammered the next ball for four but was caught one-handed by Blundell from the one after that, with Stokes immediately concluding the innings despite sitting on 49 not out.
The winning line looked impossibly far but New Zealand would have hoped to improve on their dire first-attempt of 125 all out. Yet there was more of the same as Conway played around a seaming delivery from Woakes to fall for a duck.
Another BIG session!
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 8, 2024
Pushing for victory at lunch on Day 3 in Wellington 👊
🇳🇿 5️⃣9️⃣-4️⃣ pic.twitter.com/foCKc0eif0
The left-hander has become a walking wicket for England, making 21 runs in four innings so far, but Williamson remains a most valuable scalp. Woakes got that one too, grazing the outside edge that shaped in and held its line.
The tame resistance continued when Carse entered the attack and took exactly two deliveries to open his account, tumbling to his right to hold a return catch one-handed as Latham drove with a crooked bat.
He was back two overs later for Ravindra, who looked furious with himself as he flashed at one outside off stump and nicked off for just six.
