England’s hopes of a flawless series were almost dashed on Sunday when the team capitulated on the second day of the third Test, trailing New Zealand by 340 runs.
The hosts bowled out England for 143 before reaching 136-3 on knocks in the second innings in Hamilton, easily enjoying their best day in the series in which they have been outplayed so far.
Kane Williamson was on the mark for 50 and Rachin Ravindra had two.
Williamson contributed 89 for the second wicket with Will Young (60) after captain Tom Latham’s departure on 19.
A scoreless night watchman Will O’Rourke gave England captain Ben Stokes (2-45) his second wicket just before the end.
New Zealand’s controlled batting in the final session stood in stark contrast to England’s chaotic batting between lunch and tea, during which they lost their last eight wickets for 66 runs.
Bowler Pace O’Rourke (3-33) snatched three crucial wickets after lunch in a furious spell before Matt Henry (4-48) and Mitchell Santner (3-7) caused the collapse in the final over.
Jacob Bethell (12) was the first to fall victim to O’Rourke, caught at point before a powerful fast bowler took out ICC’s first and second best Test batsmen, Harry Brook and Joe Root.
After scoring decisive centuries in each of England’s two great victories, in Christchurch and Wellington, Brook lasted just one ball.
He played to the swinger, drawing a roar of approval from the small crowd on a hot, quiet day at Seddon Park.
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Root came on in the 32nd over following O’Rourke’s over and was caught with a powerful shot off a tight bounce.
Santner added to New Zealand’s dominant position by removing Ollie Pope (24) and Stokes (27) in the first seven deliveries after the pair had scored 52 for the sixth wicket.
Pope caught Daryl Mitchell at first slip before Stokes went lbw, losing his balance while trying to swing.
The last five wickets fell for nine runs, but before 204 runs New Zealand refused to force a follow-on.
Earlier, England were 54-2 at lunch.
Zak Crawley lost to Henry for the fifth time in five innings of the series and was caught and bowled in 21 innings, continuing his disastrous run.
Crawley’s score was his highest in the series as he managed to score just 47 runs at an average of 9.6.
The impressive Henry struck again in the same over, trapping fellow opener Ben Duckett lbw for 11.
It took England over an hour to get the final wicket in New Zealand after the hosts resumed their first innings at 315-9.
New Zealand bowled another 15.1 overs and scored 32 runs before top-scorer Santner was bowled out for 76 by Matthew Potts (4-90), adding 26 to his overnight score.
