Feeble England blown away by New Zealand

Third Test, Hamilton (day two of five)

New Zealand 347 (Santner 76; Potts 4-90) & 136-3 (Young 60, Williamson 50*)

England 143 (Root 32; Henry 4-48, Santner 3-7, O'Rourke 3-33)

New Zealand lead by 340 runs

Scorecard

England's hopes of a clean sweep in New Zealand are all but over after a feeble display on the second day of the third Test in Hamilton.

Continuing a growing trend of woeful performances in series finales, the tourists were shot out for 143 inside 36 overs in blameless conditions.

Overall, England lost their last eight wickets for 66 runs either side of a stand of 52 between Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes. The final five wickets went for only nine runs.

Matt Henry took 4-48, but the real damage was done by three wickets in eight balls from Surrey-born pace bowler Will O'Rourke. Spinner Mitchell Santner continued his fine return to the Kiwi side with 3-7.

Santner and O'Rourke had earlier been confronted by some baffling tactics from England, who needed more than an hour to take the final wicket of the New Zealand first innings.

Faced by nine men on the boundary before he received a ball on Sunday morning, Santner moved to 76, adding 44 with O'Rourke. When Santner was eventually bowled to give Matthew Potts his fourth wicket, New Zealand were 347 all out.

The Black Caps were batting again after tea, England's weary bowlers asked to charge in once more.

Will Young made 60 and Kane Williamson is unbeaten on 50. New Zealand were 136-3 by the close, leading by 340 and with the game in their grasp.

It is to England's huge credit they have already won this series. Their victory in the opening Test in Christchurch continued an impressive run of winning the first match in all five away series since Stokes became captain.

England have also developed a habit of finishing badly. This year alone they have ended series away to India and Pakistan, and at home to Sri Lanka, on a whimper.

In the coming days a horror show in Hamilton will join that list, with England blowing their chance to become the third visiting side to secure a 3-0 clean sweep in this country.

By any measure, the batting was appalling, yet the tone for the day was set in a first hour that handed all the initiative to New Zealand. Santner and O'Rourke added 32 runs and the momentum of the morning made an England collapse feel inevitable. So it proved.

Leading by 204 runs on first innings, New Zealand opted against enforcing the follow-on even though Monday's weather forecast is mixed.

Either way, there is more than enough time left for the hosts to take something from the series, ending England's year in defeat.

A common theme in England's end-of-series woes has been batting collapses and this was as inept and reckless as the others.

Only Ben Duckett, pinned by a nip-backer from Henry, can feel like he was got out. Earlier in the same over, Zak Crawley fell to Henry for the fifth time in as many innings this series by offering a leading edge for the bowler to take a fine low catch.

Jacob Bethell and Joe Root added 44 for the third wicket and, at 77-2, the game was back in the balance. Then came the implosion.

Bethell was pushed back by O'Rourke and suckered into a drive to be caught at point. Harry Brook chopped on from his first ball and Root, so assured for 32, cut to gully.

Captain Stokes and vice-captain Pope threatened a counter, only for their own poor shots at Santner. Pope jabbed with hard hands to be caught at slip, Stokes was lbw sweeping.

The tail offered nothing, Henry joining Santner to mop up. The last five wickets fell in 29 balls. Seamer Tim Southee, in his final Test, is wicketless for now.

After leaving New Zealand 315-9 overnight and returning with a second new ball 11 deliveries old, England could have been batting almost instantly on Sunday morning.

Instead, they paid Santner too much respect, allowing him to farm the strike. The left-hander added 26 to his first-day 50. O'Rourke held up his end for five not out from 30 deliveries.

If the batting of Santner and O'Rourke frustrated England, the bowling of O'Rourke in particular ripped the heart out of the visitors. In an eight-over spell in sapping heat, he averaged over 88mph, but more importantly used his height to generate venomous lift.

Santner, a hero of New Zealand's series win in India, is playing his first Test of this series. When he came on to bowl, he immediately generated turn, making England's ignoring of off-spinner Shoaib Bashir until the 157th over of the match all the more curious.

New Zealand's batting in the evening was merely an exercise in growing the lead. Young, player of the series in India, again demonstrated how much he was missed in the first two Tests of this series, while Williamson is helping himself on a ground where he averaged 94 before this match began.

O'Rourke's full day was completed by a second stint with the bat, emerging as nightwatchman after Young hooked a Stokes bouncer to Bethell. It was a failed enterprise, ending with an edge behind off the same bowler.