England suffer shambolic third Test collapse against New Zealand that leaves Ben Stokes’s side all out for 143 and on the verge of eighth annual defeat

England will end their marathon year on a low after collapsing in dismal fashion on the second afternoon of the third Test against New Zealand.

At 77 for two, in reply to the hosts’ 347, they were in the match. But a pair of three-wicket bursts – from excellent young fast bowler Will O’Rourke and clever left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner – bundled them together for 143, all but ensuring England’s 17th Test would end in 2024 with their eighth defeat .

Such was the feeling at the end of the season that, had Tom Latham forced the follow-on with a lead of 204 – easily the largest deficit England have faced in the Bazball era – his team might now be heading for an innings victory looking out.

Instead, with ten sessions still available, New Zealand spent the two and a half hours after tea to 136 for three. Latham was bowled by Gus Atkinson for 19, and Will Young was bowled to Ben Stokes for 60.

Inexplicably, O’Rourke walked off as nightwatchman with twenty minutes to go and the lead out of sight – only to leave Stokes behind for a duck. When Rachin Ravindra finally came out at number 5, the England fielders let him know what they thought.

Yet New Zealand – with Kane Williamson unbeaten on 50 – led with 340 men, ending a day when England, despite all their pre-match protestations, looked as if their thoughts were on Christmas and the flight home. .

Mitchell Santner produced a stunning three-wicket bowling spell to cause England misery

Harry Brook bagged a golden duck as England’s mid-order collapse began

O’Rourke, who had bowled with little luck in Wellington, was full of menace, inducing a loose drive from Jacob Bethell, forcing Harry Brook to play on the first ball, only for Joe Root to get into the gully – all in the space of eight . deliveries.

And Santner, who had earlier in the day exploited some curious tactics from Stokes to extend his last wicket stand with O’Rourke to 44 and his own score to 76, had disposed of Ollie Pope and Stokes in his first seven balls.

But alongside the two who bowled during a collapse of eight for 66 – and ultimately five for nine – England batted shambolicly. Stokes had said in advance that his dressing room does not like the word ‘ruthless’. The cynical response after they were bowled out in 35.4 overs – their shortest first innings under his captaincy – was that you could see why.

So far England had spent the series getting out of trouble: they were 71 for four in reply to 348 in Christchurch, and then 43 for four on the first morning in Wellington. Both times they were saved by a large stand of Brook and Pope. But the series in the bag now lacked sharpness.

After Zak Crawley hit four fours off Tim Southee’s first over, Matt Henry started the slide and caught Crawley low to his left off his own bowling for 21. It was the fifth time in a row that Henry has taken his wicket – for a personal amount of five runs. Crawley may be the only tourist in the world who doesn’t like visiting New Zealand.

Four balls later, Henry pinned Ben Duckett with his leg so palpably that it took a moment before he directed his appeal to Ahsan Raza: 33 for two.

Root looked in the groove, but so did O’Rourke – the 6ft 4in, Kingston-upon-Thames native – and England couldn’t handle him. The most dramatic moment of his three-wicket outburst came when Brook – after 171 in Christchurch and 123 in Wellington – faced his first ball as the world’s top-ranked batsman, and was beaten by someone who tapped back, took the inside edge and fired . in the leg stump.

New Zealand’s Will O’Rourke (right) claimed three wickets in eight overs against England

Joe Root overtook Pakistan’s Javed Miandad during his 32 runs to become the leading run-scorer among the visiting Test batsmen in New Zealand

When Root, who overtook Pakistan’s Javed Miandad in the course of his 32 to become the leading run-scorer among New Zealand’s visiting Test batsmen, could only direct an attempted uppercut to Young in the gully, England found themselves at 82 for five .

Pope and Stokes gathered 52 exhibitors, but Santner’s introduction proved to be the beginning of the end. Pope stiffly poked his fifth ball to Daryl Mitchell at slip for 24, before Stokes missed an almighty slog sweep and was plumb leg for his seventh for 27.

England had not used Shoaib Bashir at all during New Zealand’s first innings, but Santner soon finished with three for seven – his best figures in his fourteen home Tests.

Meanwhile, Henry finished with four, with Atkinson chipping into center and Matthew Potts hitting a catch into the covers. New Zealand may have lost the series, but they finished it all the stronger.