Gus Atkinson 'more greedy' after claiming hat-trick vs New Zealand in 2nd Test
England fast bowler Gus Atkinson became the 14th bowler from his country to take a hat-trick in Tests on Day 2 of the second Test against New Zealand on Saturday, December 7 at Basin Reserve, Wellington. The right-arm speedster achieved the feat during the first session of the day as he helped England clean up the tail with his hat-trick.
Atkinson came in to bowl the 34th over of the England innings as Nathan Smith welcomed him with a boundary. However, the England seamer made a brilliant comeback by making Smith chop one back onto his stumps. He further dismissed Matt Henry for a golden duck getting him caught at gully by Ben Duckett. Atkinson finally completed his hat-trick by trapping Tim Southee in front of the stumps.
NZ vs ENG 2nd Test Day 2 Highlights
Commenting on his achievement after the game, the 26-year-old said that it’s something that he never dreamed of
“Yeah, it was great it’s not something that, you know as a bowler, you sort of think about 5-fers and 10-fers and those sort of things. So, you know, to get a hat trick. I wasn’t really thinking about it too much at all. But then obviously, there’s not many chances when you’re on two wickets and two balls. So and I felt pretty confident. You know, as I was running in on that third ball that I had a good chance of getting it there,” said Atkinson in the post-day press conference.
Further speaking ahead, Atkinson recalled his last hat-trick taken for his school in 2015 and said that he will remain greedy and try to get more milestones for his country.
England finish Day 2 in a commanding position
“On Test debut, I had two in two and I felt confident then, but didn’t quite go my way. But no, I took one for school once in 2015. So that was my last one. But, you know, you always wanna get more and be greedy and take as many as you can. And that’s something I’m gonna try to do in the future. And,yeah, obviously, it’s been a great year for me personally, and, hopefully, I can get a few more milestones and help the team,” he added.
Atkinson finished with figures of 4/31 in 8.5 overs and was well-supported by Brydon Carse (4/46). Courtesy of their bowling effort, New Zealand were bundled out for 125 in 34.5 overs helping England take a massive lead of 155 runs. In reply, the Ben Stokes-led side finished the day on 378/5 leading by 533 runs as Jacob Bethell (96) and Ben Duckett (92) top-scored.
