BEN Duckett and Jacob Bethell hit 90s and added an entertaining partnership while Joe Root scored his 65th Test fifty to put England on a pedestal in Wellington on Day 2. Gus Atkinson rocked New Zealand early with a hat-trick before the batters proceeded to bury the hosts under a mountain of runs. At stumps, England walked off with a gargantuan lead of 533 runs.

New Zealand began the day with an overnight score of 86/5 and lasted less than 10 overs before being bundled out for just 125. Brydon Carse picked the first wicket of the morning with an exceptional delivery to square up and clean up Tom Blundell.

It was similar to the ball he bowled to Kane Williamson on Day 1, albeit overstepping on that occasion and nullifying the dismissal. Blundell didn’t have such luck though. In the same over, Carse bowled one full and fast to the night-watchman, William O’Rourke, to trap him leg before for a 26-ball duck.

Glenn Phillips and Nathan Smith swung their bats around to drag the team past the 100-run mark but Atkinson put a swift end to the innings. Smith inside-edged a ball onto the stumps; Matt Henry tried and failed to move out of the way of a short ball first up and edged the ball to Duckett at gully; A full, skiddy delivery hit Southee on the front pad while having him pinned to his crease. The veteran became Atkinson’s third dismissal in the hattrick.

England went into their second dig with a 155-run first-innings lead in tow. Zak Crawley started it with two successive fours but Henry had him caught at mid-wicket in just the second over – dismissing him for the fourth time this series. From here began the second-wicket alliance between Bethell and Duckett that had a crushing effect on New Zealand’s spirits.

They started on top gear, matching each other in finding fours and sixes at will. Duckett got a reprieve when Tom Latham put down a tough chance down the leg side. Southee burned a review on an LBW appeal against Bethell.

The two hit breezy fifties and were galloping towards their respective hundreds when Southee took them both out. The fast bowler got Bethell to nick behind to Latham and Duckett played one onto the stumps. The wickets and the Tea break weren’t quite the respite New Zealand needed in the game as Root and Brook got together in the final session to extend the home side’s misery. Another partnership blossomed, swelling England’s lead past 400. New Zealand was bereft of ideas, and lost another review trying to get Root out off a caught behind.

Brook was free-flowing once more, pulling short balls and punishing overpitched deliveries through covers. Glenn Phillips came on for a long spell during which he took the first-innings centurion out as Brook mistimed his loft down the ground and hit straight to O’Rourke at long-off. Shortly after, Root brought up his 65th Test fifty – also his 100th 50-plus total (one more than Rahul Dravid). England was nearing a lead of 500 when Henry dismissed Ollie Pope.

But declaration wasn’t on Ben Stokes’s mind. He instead walked out to frustrate New Zealand further by tonking his way to an unbeaten 36 off 26 till stumps. Root ended on 73*, setting himself up for his 36th Test hundred on Day 3. (Cricbuzz)