England take command on day three of First Test vs New Zealand

England dominated day three of the first Test against New Zealand, putting themselves within range of victory by the close of play on Saturday in Christchurch.

With the Test finely poised across cricket betting sites heading into the third day, England came out swinging early and grabbed the momentum.

Harry Brook (171) and Ben Stokes (80) quickly added to their overnight scores, and in the space of 29 overs, England piled on a rapid-fire 180 runs.

By the time the visitors were bowled out for 499, they had gone from 29 runs behind, to a lead of 151 runs.

It was an innings defined by dropped catches from New Zealand, who are usually known for their fine fielding.

Brook, who high-scored for England, was dropped no less than four times en route to his seventh century since making his red ball debut in 2022.

A plethora of other errors or tough chances went against the Kiwis, who could well have had a first-innings lead had things gone their way.

Needing a big response in their second innings, the Black Caps began poorly, with both Tom Latham (1) and Devon Conway (8) bundled out inside the first nine overs.

Kane Williamson (61) then combined with Rachin Ravindra (24) and Daryl Mitchell (31) to take the hosts through to a respectable 133/3, before disaster struck.

Williamson and new batsman Tom Blundell (0) fell in consecutive balls, with an umpire’s call going against the Kiwi captain in his unsuccessful review.

Later in the session, New Zealand was hard done by again as another umpire’s call meant Glenn Phillips (19) also lost his wicket.

By stumps, the home side had managed to sneak their noses in front by four runs, but are effectively 4/6 heading into day four.

Cricket betting understandably favour England to go on and win the Test.

Bovada has Stokes’ men at just -4000 to prevail, while New Zealand pays a long +1400.

Should the Black Caps fail to fight back, it will all but end their quest for a return to the World Test Championship final next June.

The Kiwis sit fourth on the table currently, and need to win all four of their remaining Tests to qualify without relying on other results.

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