England finished on 180 for 6 with a lead of 205 runs at the end of day 3 but a batting collapse just before the close of play gives New Zealand hope going into day 4 and the result of the first Test Match in the balance.
England started off well as Stuart Broad took a key wicket, dismissing Brendon McCullum for only 2 on the second ball of his opening spell. This set the tone for the morning as James Anderson, who took 5 wickets for 47 runs, soon after saw Kane Williamson nick an edge into the hands of Matt Prior for 60. From then on, the English pace attack whittled New Zealand out for 207 after a brace of 4 wickets from Steven Finn which meant that England would go into their second innings with a lead of 25.
The afternoon session began with England openers Alastair Cook and Nick Compton settling in to 36 - 0. However, Cook was fortunate to escape a New Zealand review with the third umpire unable to gather any conclusive evidence to overturn the original not out decision. Eventually, Cook's luck ran out as Dean Brownlie took a quite magnificent catch, dismissing Cook for only 21. This seemed to lift the New Zealanders spirits whilst an interruption in Compton's concentration left him being bowled out by Neil Wagner shortly after for 15, leaving England at 36 - 2. Jonathan Trott and Joe Root then showed composure, patience and class to put England back into control, ending at 91 - 2 at Tea.
During the evening session, a possible match winning partnership between Trott and Root continued. Both playing some delightful shots to make their fifties. It was not all plain sailing though as quite a comical lack of communication between the pair almost saw them run-out on more than one occasion. Despite this, England looked certain to be in a commanding position at the close of play. Unfortunately, Tim Southee came back into the attack late in the day to start a gritty New Zealand fightback which began when Root was bowled out for 71 after dragging an inside edge onto his own stumps leaving England 159 - 3. A rather calamitous batting display then saw Southee claim a further two quick wickets, taking Bairstow (5) and Prior (0). Williamson then bowled Trott (56) after the spinner found some sharp spin from the rough. This left England reeling after a poor performance in the last half an hour of play saw them squander to 180 - 6 at stumps whilst their strong position in the game slipped away. England's hopes of winning the match now rely on the tail order to get a competitive lead from which the bowlers will have to defend.
Player of the day: Joe Root for scoring the highest total (71) of any batsmen so far in this Test Match. This provided England with much needed runs as they look to build an unattainable lead. His composure and determination at the crease proves to be an example to the rest of the English batsmen in steely batting.
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