Gus Atkinson claimed a hat-trick before England's batsmen let loose to power the visitors 533 runs ahead of New Zealand on Saturday and in full control of the second Test.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The home side will need to chase an enormous score in the fourth innings after England went to stumps at 378-5 in Wellington on day two.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Captain Ben Stokes resisted any urge to declare, instead cementing England's position of power as four batters posted half-centuries to build on their first-innings advantage of 155.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Joe Root was at the crease on 73 while Stokes struck a whirlwind 35 not out against a tiring attack, after Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett were both dismissed in the 90s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The fast-moving nature of the Test means the Black Caps should have ample time to reach any target, as they bid to square the three-match series after losing the opener in Christchurch by eight wickets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
However, history is firmly against them. The highest successful fourth-innings chase at the Basin Reserve is 274, achieved by Pakistan against the hosts in 2003.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
New Zealand's hopes of getting back into the Test were scuppered in the opening 40 minutes of play when they lost their last five wickets to be all out 125.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Atkinson (4-31) removed the last three with successive deliveries to become the first Englishman to claim a Test hat-trick since Moeen Ali against South Africa seven years ago.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The seamer was all smiles after bowling Nathan Smith for 14, then having Matt Henry caught in the gully and trapping Tim Southee lbw.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
- Bethell crestfallen -<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n England made batting look a lot easier, most notably when Bethell (96) and Duckett (92) combined for an untroubled 187-run second-wicket stand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Bethell fell agonisingly short of a maiden Test ton when edging Southee to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n The 21-year-old looked crestfallen as he exited after a 118-ball knock which featured 10 fours and three sixes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Opener Duckett was closing on his fifth Test ton when he played-on off Southee (2-72), ending an innings of 112 balls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n First-Test centurion Harry Brook reached 55 before being caught in the deep off spinner Glenn Phillips while Root put some modest recent form behind him to post another batting milestone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Root became only the fourth player to reach 50 runs in 100 different Test innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Ollie Pope fell for 10 off seamer Matt Henry (2-76), who earlier dismissed Zak Crawley for eight, continuing a lean series for the opener.<\/p>\r\n\r\n In 19 Test innings against the Black Caps, Crawley has scored just 193 runs at an average of 10.15.<\/p>\r\n\r\n In-form England seamer Brydon Carse shapes as a key figure for the remainder of the Test, finishing with 4-46 in New Zealand's first innings, including both overnight batters after they had resumed at 86-5.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Blundell was bowled for 16 before nightwatchman Will O'Rourke was out lbw for a 26-ball duck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n