New Zealand inch ahead on bowlers' day

Trent Boult gra-bbed two wickets as New Zealand reduced England to 50 for two and seized the advantage at the end of the second day of the deciding third Test at Eden Park on Saturday.

Boult had England captain Alastair Cook caught behind for four then trapped Jonathan Trott in front for 27 as England slumped to 44 for two and handed the momentum back to the hosts.

Nick Compton was on 12, while Ian Bell was six not out and the visitors will head into the third day 393 runs behind, having dismissed New Zealand for 443 after tea following a feisty knock by Tim Southee.

Pace bowler Southee, who had been criticised for his cavalier approach to batting throughout the series, persisted with his attacking tactic and belted 44 runs in 33 balls to grab the initiative back for his side.

Steven Finn then raced through the tail after Southee was caught by wicketkeeper Matt Prior to finish with six wickets for 125, matching his career best figures against Australia in 2010. Prior ended the innings with five catches.

"I felt as though I've bowled better in this game than I did in the previous two games," Finn told reporters. "My lengths have been better, I've been fuller, making the batsman come forward more often than I have done in the previous games. But again that was a little bit of a rhythm thing, and I've felt good in this game so far,’’ he added. "I was fortunate to get a couple of wickets today (Saturday), but as a team we felt as though that we deserved some fortune,’’ Finn said.

Trott goes past Manjrekar

Trott surpassed Indian batsman Vijay Manjrekar in scoring the most number of runs in Test matches without hitting a six.

The top-order batsman passed Manjrekar while scoring 27 before being bowled by Boult.

Score board

NEW ZAELAND (I Innings; O/n: 250/1):

Fulton c Prior b Finn1    36
Rutherford c Cook b Finn    37
Williamson c Prior b Anderson    91
Taylor c & b Panesar    19
Brownlie c Compton b Anderson    36
McCullum c Prior b Trott    38
Watling c Prior b Finn    21
Southee c Prior b Finn    44
Martin c Trott b Finn    10
Wagner (not out)    2
Boult c Compton b Flynn    0
Extras (B-4, LB-4, NB-1)    9
Total (all out, 152.3 overs)    443
Fall of wickets: 1-79, 2-260, 3-289, 4-297, 5-365, 6-373, 7-424, 8-436, 9-443.
Bowling: James Anderson 30-8-79-2, Stuart Broad 30-6-94-0, Steven Finn 37.3-8-125-6, Monthy Panesar 47-17-123-1, Jonathan Trott 6-3-9-1, Joe Root 2-1-5-0.

ENGLAND (I Innings):

Cook c Watling b Boult    4
Compton (batting)    12
Trott lbw Boult    27
Bell (batting)    6
Extra (W-1)     1
Total (for 2 wkts, 25 overs)    50
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-44.
Bowling: Trent oult 10-4-26-2, Tim Southee 6-4-12-0, Neil Wagner 2-0-6-0, Martin 7-4-6-0.