WELLINGTON: A six-wicket haul by England paceman Stuart Broad left New Zealand fighting for survival as they were forced to follow on in the second Test at Wellington’s Basin Reserve yesterday.
At stumps, with two days remaining, New Zealand were 77 for one in their second innings, requiring a further 134 runs to make England bat again as they struggle to keep the series all square.
After the early loss of Hamish Rutherford, Peter Fulton (41 not out) and Kane Williamson (16 not out) negotiated the rest of the final session.
Earlier, Broad destroyed New Zealand’s first innings with six for 51, his seventh five-wicket haul in 54 Tests, as New Zealand collapsed to 254 all out in reply to England’s first innings 465.
The home side started the third day precariously poised at 66-3 and after overnight batsmen Kane Williamson (42) and Dean Brownlie (18) departed Brendon McCullum and BJ Watling put on 100 for the sixth wicket.
As the last recognized batsmen, New Zealand needed the pair to remain in the middle as long as possible but both foundered in the 60s, opening up the tail.
The only other sign of resistance for the Black Caps came from Bruce Martin, in only his second Test, who finished unbeaten on 21 after producing figures of 4-130 in England’s first innings.
McCullum was able to keep Broad out but was undone by Steven Finn, edging the ball to the slips where Jonathan Trott made no mistake after earlier dropping Watling.
New Zealand fell apart after McCullum’s departure for 69, losing their last five wickets for just 65 runs, ending up 12 runs short of avoiding the follow-on.
Broad, who removed Hamish Rutherford and Ross Taylor in consecutive balls on Friday, took the first wicket of the day when he had Williamson caught and bowled.
After Finn exposed the tail by dismissing McCullum, Broad removed Watling, who had looked comfortable until he nicked the ball through to wicketkeeper Matt Prior when on 60.
The Broad-Prior combination then accounted for Neil Wagner, who faced 13 balls without scoring, and Trent Boult, who contributed two as the last man.
With the pitch posing few problems for the batsmen, despite scuff marks appearing, Fulton and Rutherford made a cautious start to New Zealand’s second innings.
They reached 25 before the breakthrough came for England midway through the 11th over when the decision to move Ian Bell to leg slip paid immediate dividends.
Rutherford’s attempt to steer Monty Panesar down the leg side produced a one-handed diving catch by Bell and the first-Test centurion was gone for 15.
As New Zealand battle to avoid defeat after the first match in the three-Test series ended in a draw, there is the outside prospect of rain affecting the outcome with occasional showers forecast for today and tomorrow.
The third and final Test starts in Auckland on Friday.