Batting collapse puts England on the back foot against New Zealand

England faded fast on day two of the third Test in New Zealand, crumbling for a meagre 143 with a sorry batting performance in Hamilton.

After finally bowling the hosts out for 347, taking over an hour to end a frustrating last-wicket stand, they fell in a heap in the afternoon session.

From 77 for two they collapsed without a trace, losing their last five men for just nine runs.

Surrey-born seamer Will O’Rourke seized the initiative for the Black Caps, knocking over Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook and Joe Root in the space of eight transformative deliveries.

The 6ft 4in seamer bowled with speed, smarts and steepling bounce to rip the heart out of the middle order, including a first golden duck of Brook’s international career. A matter of days after being crowned as the number one batter in the world, Brook dragged down his stumps for a first baller.

England flirted with a fightback as Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes put on 52 but their resolve was fleeting as a series of loose dismissals followed in a hurry.

Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, last man out for 76 in the first innings, then mopped up with three wickets for seven runs.

With a lead of 204, New Zealand could have chosen to send England straight back in but instead opted not to enforce the follow on. Instead, they will push the tourists’ weary seam attack straight back into action after just 35.4 overs of rest.

England’s day began with a laborious 15 overs in the field, Stokes employing strangely defensive fields and cautious tactics in pursuit of the final Kiwi wicket.

Only 32 runs were added to the scorecard as Santner and O’Rourke played the spoiler role, but England were a curiously passive presence until Matthew Potts finally grabbed the last wicket.

Their response began brightly, Zak Crawley lashing four driven boundaries in Tim Southee’s first over in a bid to relieve some of the mounting pressure on him. But his troubled tour continued as Matt Henry dismissed him for the fifth time in five attempts, pouncing athletically to take a caught and bowled.

Crawley’s cameo of 21 took his series tally to 47, for a concerning average of 9.40. Not content with continuing his hot streak against Crawley, Henry removed Ben Duckett just four balls later with a textbook lbw.

That left Bethell and Root, the least and most experienced players, in charge of a rebuild but their efforts floundered after the lunch break. O’Rourke was the catalyst, turning in a formidable burst.

Having forced Bethell on to the back foot with a sequence of short deliveries, he tossed fuller and watched as the 21-year-old carved obligingly to backward point.

The arrival of Brook has frequently meant big runs this winter but this time the magic touch deserted him, diverting his first ball into the stumps before staring at the heavens in surprise.

O’Rourke’s inspired work continued with key dismissal of Root, following the right-hander with a ball that rose and jagged back in to leave him short of room. Rather than taken evasive action, Root shaped to steer towards deep third and picked out Glenn Phillips.

Pope (24) and Stokes (27) briefly ended the chaos, sharing 10 boundaries as they tried to land some blows of their own, but a swift end was incoming.

Pope stabbed Santner carelessly to slip and Stokes overbalanced to fall lbw on the sweep. That left the tail to attempt a recovery, but Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Potts came and went in quick succession to tie up a dire innings in quick time.