England lose three early wickets after dismissing NZ for 348

England lose three early wickets after dismissing NZ for 348

England experienced a challenging session before lunch, losing Zak Crawley, Jacob Bethell, and Joe Root early, concluding the first session at 45-3 after successfully bowling out New Zealand for 348 on the second day of the first test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Friday. 

Seamer Brydon Carse claimed 4 wickets for 64 runs, while spinner Shoaib Bashir took 4 for 69. Glenn Phillips contributed an unbeaten 58, aiding the home team in adding 29 runs to their overnight score at the expense of their final two wickets. Ben Duckett, who remained not out on 32, faced a rigorous examination from the New Zealand seamers and will return for the second session with the aim of stabilizing the innings following the loss of two wickets in the last over before the break.

Tim Southee commenced the bowling in what will be his final test series, but it was his new-ball partner, Matt Henry, who achieved the initial breakthrough in the fourth over. A slight seam movement on a straight delivery deceived Crawley’s attempted drive, resulting in the ball striking his front pad, with the batsman wisely opting not to challenge the lbw decision. Bethell took considerable time to score but appeared set to reach lunch until he edged a delivery from fellow test debutant Nathan Smith, leading to his dismissal for 10 runs. All-rounder Smith quickly secured his second test wicket as Joe Root, in his 150th test match, was bowled for a duck just four balls later.