Gus Atkinson scored a hat-trick as England took command of the second Test against New Zealand, knocking off the hosts’ tail in style.
The Surrey seamer removed Nathan Smith, Matt Henry and Tim Southee in three successive deliveries, just the 15th time an England bowler has achieved the feat in Test cricket.
In his ninth year, Atkinson turned the heat on the Black Caps, picking up three different dismissals to end their innings on 125 and put the tourists 155 ahead.
Atkinson finished with figures of 4-31 from 8.5 overs
The 26-year-old rooted out Smith’s middle stump with his third ball, then got Henry to back off a short ball that he bowled to Ben Duckett at gully.
Last man Tim Southee stood between Atkinson and a place in the history books but had no answer as the ball came full and straight, smashing his front pad in front of dead middle stump.
Southee reviewed the lbw decision with more hope than expected, but England’s celebrations were already well under way as Rod Tucker raised his finger for the second time to seal the deal as Atkinson took his 50th Test hat-trick in world cricket, 47 men and 3 in the women’s game.
The last player to receive one was South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj in 2021, while Moeen Ali is the most recent to do so for England against the Proteas at The Oval in 2017.
Stuart Broad took two in his career, making Atkinson the 14th England player on the list.Matthew Hoggard and Ryan Sidebottom are the only two England players to claim a Test hat-trick this century.
