England hit back after Kiwis’ strong start

England’s seamers struck in the final session to reduce New Zealand to 315/9 after the hosts had made a strong start to their bid for a consolation victory on the opening day of the third and final Test.

The New Zealand tail wagged hard but the batters higher up the order will be rueing their failure to build the partnerships they needed to really cash in on the platform laid by Tom Latham and Will Young in an opening stand of 105. Local hero Tim Southee gave the home fans something to cheer with his 96th, 97th and 98th Test sixes in a 10-ball 23 in the last half hour before holing out attempting the 99th in his penultimate Test innings.

Mitchell Santner took New Zealand to stumps with a bright half-century from 54 balls and will resume on Sunday alongside Will O’Rourke, who had yet to score, looking to add a few more runs to the tally.