HAMILTON: England’s hopes of a clean sweep in the series were nearly dashed on Sunday as they suffered a dramatic collapse on day two of the third Test, allowing New Zealand to take a commanding lead of 340 runs.

Having struggled throughout the series, New Zealand enjoyed a breakthrough day after dismissing England cheaply. By stumps, New Zealand had reached 136-3 in their second innings, with Kane Williamson standing strong on 50 and Rachin Ravindra on 2.

The turning point came when England lost their final eight wickets for just 66 runs. Fast bowler Will O’Rourke was the catalyst, taking 3-33 in a fiery spell after lunch. Matt Henry (4-48) and Mitchell Santner (3-7) further dismantled England’s batting in the final session.

The collapse began after lunch when O’Rourke dismissed Jacob Bethell (12) and then removed England’s top two batsmen, Harry Brook and Joe Root, in quick succession.

Brook, in fine form earlier in the series, was dismissed for a duck, while Root was caught at point for 32. Santner’s spell saw Ollie Pope (24) and Ben Stokes (27) depart, and England’s tail folded quickly, losing the last five wickets for just nine runs.

New Zealand chose not to enforce the follow-on after extending their lead to 204 runs. Earlier, England had reached 54-2 by lunch, with opener Zak Crawley again failing, scoring just 21, his highest of the series.

New Zealand resumed their first innings at 315-9 and added 32 more runs before Santner was bowled out for 76, giving New Zealand a dominant position in the match.

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