An inspired spell of precision bowling by Ryan Sidebottom pulled En-gland off the ropes and put them in charge of the third Test against New Zealand on Sunday when 15 wickets fell.
After a day of fluctuating fortunes, England reached stumps on the second day of the series decider at 91 for two, holding an overall lead of 176.
At a placid McLean Park, England’s first-innings folded for a seemingly inconsequential 258. New Zealand raced to 103 for one in reply before Sidebottom grabbed the initiative and New Zea-land’s last nine wickets tumbled for 65 with the left-arm quick claiming a career-best seven for 47.
The carnage continued when England started their second innings with Chris Martin having Michael Vaughan caught behind by Brendon McCullum for four in the first over.
Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss then put on 72 for the second wicket before Cook was caught behind by McCullum leaving Strauss not out 40 and Kevin Pietersen on seven.
SCORE BOARD
ENGLAND (I Innings, o/n: 240/7)
Broad c McCullum b Southee 42
Sidebottom c Bell b Southee 14
Panesar b Martin 1
Anderson (not out) 0
Extras (LB-9, W-3, NB-1) 13
Total (all out; 96.1 overs) 253
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-4, 3-4, 4-36, 5-125, 6-147, 7-208, 8-240, 9-253.
Bowling: Martin 26-6-74-2, Southee 23.1-8-55-5, Elliott 10-2-27-1, Vettori 19-6-51-0, Patel 18-3-37-2.
NEW ZEALAND (I Innings)
How c Strauss b Sidebottom 44
Bell lbw Sidebottom 0
Fleming c C’wood b S’bottom 59
Sinclair c Broad b Sidebottom 7
Taylor c Ambrose b Broad 2
Elliott c Ambroe b Sidebottom 6
McCullum b Sidebottom 9
Vettori c Cook b Sidebottom 14
Southee c Pietersen b Broad 5
Patel c Panesar b Broad 4
Martin (not out) 4
Extras (LB-13, W-1) 14
Total (all out, 48.4 overs) 168
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-103, 3-116, 4-19, 5-119, 6-137, 7-138, 8-152, 9-164.
Bowling: Sidebottm 21.4-6-47-7, Anderson 7-1-54-0, Broad 17-3-54-3, Panesar 1-1-0-0, Colingwood 2-2-0-0
ENGLAND (II Innings)
Cook c McCullum b Patel 40
Vaughan c McCullum b Martin 4
Strauss (batting) 40
Pietersen (batting) 7
Total (for 2 wkts, 32 overs) 91
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-77.
Bowling: Martin 6-2-23-1, Southee 6-3-18-0, Elliott 4-0-19-0, Patel 9-1-14-1, Vettori 7-0-17-0.
