ENG vs NZ 3rd Test: New Zealand’s century at Trent Bridge, Latham-Conway beat England on the first day ENG vs NZ 3rd Test: New Zealand’s century at Trent Bridge, Latham-Conway beat England on the first day

The havoc created by the Kiwi batsmen on the first day of the third and decisive Test match being played between England and New Zealand at Trent Bridge has made the bowlers of the host team sweat. The series is currently tied at 1-1, and in this do-or-die match, New Zealand’s openers not only made a great start, but also destroyed the England bowling attack and scored a mountain-like score of 361 runs on the very first day.

Latham-Conway’s historic 317-run partnership

The match started with captain Tom Latham winning the toss. Taking full advantage of the batting-friendly pitch at Trent Bridge, Latham and Devon Conway made a huge partnership of 317 runs for the first wicket. Tom Latham played a brilliant inning of 151 runs, scoring the 17th century of his Test career, while on the other hand, Devon Conway also maintained his rhythm and scored 157 runs with the help of 22 fours and 3 sixes. This partnership pushed England on the back foot from the very first session of the game.

Ben Stokes’ return also did not help

In the second Test, England captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson, who were out due to disciplinary reasons, returned to the team. It was expected that the arrival of Stokes would give an edge to England’s bowling, but none of the strategies worked for the Kiwi batsmen. Stokes conceded 57 runs in 13 overs and got only one success. Joe Root did get one wicket, but by the end of the day the rest of England’s bowlers like Shoaib Bashir, Joffra Archer and Gus Atkinson were seen yearning for wickets.

Game of the day: New Zealand have the upper hand

Although by the end of the game, England made some comeback and took the wickets of Henry Nicholls (36) and Rachin Ravindra (7), but by then the New Zealand team had reached a strong position. By the end of the day’s play, New Zealand’s score was 361 runs for 4 wickets. The intention of the Kiwi team now is to score such a big score in this match that England does not get a chance to bat again. This decisive match now seems to be completely under the control of New Zealand.