"Nice to have found my rhythm": England's Atkinson on hat-trick against NZ

After an incredible hat-trick during second Test against New Zealand at Christchurch, England pacer Gus Atkinson said he never thought of getting to the milestone and was happy to have found his rhythm. Atkinson continued his fine run in Test cricket, registering a hat-trick during the second Test against New Zealand at Wellington on Saturday. Atkinson accomplished this feat against the Kiwis at Wellington, removing Nathan Smith, Matt Henry and Tim Southee in successive deliveries in the 35th over to get them bundled out for just 125 runs.

Speaking after the match, Atkinson said, "Our plans worked out well in the morning and the batters batted pretty well. Never thought of getting a hat-trick, but it was nice to get it. We wanted to set them up with the shorter balls and then go for the yorker. Yesterday I did not feel great, but I felt nice today found my rhythm Not really sure what the plans are. We will see tomorrow and assess the conditions. We'll stick to the usual plans and try to challenge the batters."

He took the first hat-trick by an England player since Moeen Ali against South Africa back in 2017 and also became the first England pacer to register this milestone since Stuart Broad did it against Sri Lanka at Leeds in 2014. Overall, the 26-year-old is the 14th England bowler with a Test hat-trick to his name, as per Wisden.

It is also the 15th hat-trick by an England bowler in Test cricket and overall 47th instance of a hat-trick in men's Test cricket. Since his debut against West Indies at the start of the Test summer in July this year, Atkinson has enjoyed a dream run in longer format. In his debut Test, he was able to get a five-wicket haul in both innings, ending with figures of 7/45 and 5/61. This also helped him complete a 12-wicket haul at perhaps the most iconic venue in the sport, the Lord's, known as the 'Home of Cricket'.

Against Sri Lanka at Lord's in August, Atkinson also showcased his batting abilities, smashing a quickfire 118 in 115 balls, with 14 fours and four sixes. All these aforementioned efforts came in winning efforts at Lord's, marking a dream start to his career. In 10 Tests so far, Atkinson has taken 47 wickets at an average of 21.31, with best figures of 7/45. He has three fifers and a ten-wicket haul to his name. Also, he has made 305 runs at an average of 23.46 and a strike rate of 77.21, with a century in 18 innings.

Coming to the match, England was put to bat first by Latham and was reduced to 43/4 and Crawley was dismissed for 17 in 23 balls. A counter-attacking century from Harry Brook (123 in 115 balls, with 11 fours and five sixes) and a fine half-century from Ollie Pope (66 in 78 balls, with seven fours and a six) took England to 280/10 in 54.4 overs. Brook and Pope put up a 174 run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Nathan Smith (4/86) was the pick of the bowlers for Kiwis, while Will O'Rourke also took 3/49. Matt Henry also got two wickets. In their first innings, Kiwis could muster only 125 runs as four-fers from Atkinson (4/31) and Brydon Carse (4/46) totally demolished NZ. Kane Williamson (37 in 56 balls, with three fours) was the only player to touch the 20-run mark. They trailed by 155 runs.

Now, England has taken a massive 533 run lead, scoring 378/5 at the end of second day. Half-centuries came from Ben Duckett (92 in 112 balls, with six fours and a six), Jacob Bethell (96 in 118 balls, with 10 fours and three sixes), Harry Brook (55 in 61 balls with five fours) and Joe Root. (73* in 106 balls, with five fours). (ANI)