Innings break New Zealand 347 (Santner 76, Latham 63, Potts 4-90, Atkinson 3-66) vs England
With England spreading the field for Santner and focusing only on getting out O’Rourke, the last-wicket pair ticked along in untroubled fashion for the first half of the session. Santner found the boundary three times but otherwise dealt largely in singles, often off the fourth ball of the over, while O’Rourke blocked steadfastly at the other end.
The No. 11 initially played out a maiden from Gus Atkinson and then showed good defensive technique. His first run came via an inside edge to fine leg, and the same shot later brought him his first boundary in 19 international innings.
O’Rourke was given out caught behind in the seventh over of the day, only for Ahsan Raza to have to overturn his decision when technology proved the ball had flicked the trouser leg.
It seemed as if the holding pattern might continue indefinitely, with Santner creeping on to his second-highest Test score, after the hundred he made against England in 2019. But immediately following the break, Potts found some inwards movement on the right line to defeat Santner’s drive and peg back off stump, ending the stand at 44 and giving Potts his fourth wicket of the innings.
