Matt Henry registers his best Test figures vs England: Stats
England took a mammoth 151-run first-innings lead over New Zealand in the ongoing opening Test in Christchurch, courtesy of Harry Brook's stunning 171. On the third day, England resumed at 319/5 and soon shifted gears to be all out for 499 shortly after lunch. Veteran pacer Matt Henry was the most effective NZ bowler, claiming four crucial wickets. This includes the key dismissals of Brook and opposition skipper Ben Stokes.
A decent spell from Henry
Henry made his first strike with the new ball, dismissing opener Zak Crawley for a duck. He had to wait long for his second scalp as NZ fielders dropped as many as five catches on Day 2. The third day saw him dismiss centurion Brook for 171. He also stopped Stokes (80) from getting a hundred. Last man Shoaib Bashir (5) was his final victim.
Lower order powers England
Brook's brilliant innings, which comprised of 15 fours and three sixes, came to an end when a good length ball from Henry found a faint outside edge. Wicketkeeper Tom Blundell made no mistake in taking the catch. Notably, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse also added to England's total with 48 and 33 runs respectively. Besides Henry, debutant pacer Nathan Smith also bowled a fine spell, claiming three wickets for 141 runs.
Four-fer for Henry
Henry was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, taking four wickets for 84 runs (23 overs). Last month, the pacer became the joint second-fastest to 100 Test wickets for New Zealand with Neil Wagner (26 matches). Henry, who made his debut in 2015, now has 109 wickets across 28 Tests at 30.42 (5W: 4). As per ESPNcricinfo, 27 of his scalps have come against England at 36.85 as he recorded his best figures against them.
NZ are trailing in the game
Kane Williamson's 93 meant NZ 348/10 while batting first in the game. Though England lost four early wickets in response, they finished at 499/10 courtesy a stunning 171-run innings from Brook. Ollie Pope (77) and Stokes (80) missed out on tons. The Kiwis need to put up a solid show with the bat in the third innings to bounce back.
