NZ vs ENG, Day 3: Resilient New Zealand Frustrate England Bowlers After Stokes Enforced Follow-On

Latham and Conway added 149 for the first wicket [Twitter]

It took a while, but New Zealand finally showed resilience with the bat and managed to frustrate the England bowlers on Day 3 of the second Test match.

Things looked bad for them when Ben Stokes decided to enforce a follow-on as defeat loomed large on the Kiwis. But as they say, cricket is a game of great uncertainty and that's exactly what happened in Wellington. 

How Day 3 panned out?

Despite being 103 for 7 in the first innings, New Zealand found an unlikely hero in Tim Southee, who led from the front and smoked his second highest Test score of 73. He showed his version of Bazball, as the Kiwi skipper scored 73 off just 49 deliveries and gave a mini headache to Ben Stokes.

He was amply supported by Tom Blundell, who played a perfect second fiddle as the score went past the 200-run mark. But once Southee departed, England wrapped things up quickly and the home team was bundled out for 209, and were asked to bat again by England.

Latham, Conway's rescue act

The defeat was hovering around, and England new ball bowlers had their tails up in the second innings, but things didn't go according to their plans. Both the openers, Tom Latham (83), and Devon Conway (61) negotiated the early burst from Anderson and Broad and were not afraid to put away the bad deliveries.

The Black Caps had an opening stand of 149, which was brought to an end by Jack Leach, who dismissed Conway. One brought the fall of another as six runs later, Latham followed his opening partner, with an unlikely Joe Root getting the prized wicket.

Will Young's short stay came to a close when Leach bowled a ripper to sent him back. Young played for the one that comes back in with the angle, but the ball drifted away to castle the off stump.

With three wickets in quick succession, New Zealand needed a rebuild and Kane Williamson (25*), and Henry Nicholls (18*) have provided just that. At the end of Day 3, New Zealand are 202 for 3, and still trail by 24 runs.

Brief Score

New Zealand 1st innings: 209-10 (53.2)

Tim Southee 73 (49), Tom Blundell 38 (79);

Stuart Broad 4-61 (14.2), James Anderson 3-37 (10)

New Zealand 2nd innings: 202-3 (83)

Tom Latham 83 (172), Devon Conway 61 (155);

Jack Leach 2-59 (31), Joe Root 1-18 (9)