Gus Atkinson rocked New Zealand with a superb hat-trick before England’s batters piled on the pain on what should prove a series-clinching second day in Wellington.

Atkinson joined one of cricket’s most coveted clubs when he took out tailenders Nathan Smith, Matt Henry and Tim Southee with three successive deliveries, just the 15th time an English bowler has achieved the feat in Test cricket.

His efforts knocked New Zealand over for just 125, with the tourists ending the day 533 ahead having romped to 378 for five in response. With three full days to go in this second Test, and a fourth-innings chase already far beyond world record territory, it seems impossible that England will leave Basin Reserve with anything less than an unassailable 2-0 scoreline.

In a near-perfect outing, the only thing that was missing from England’s dream script was four more runs for their rookie batter Jacob Bethell. He was dismissed for an agonising 96, coming within a single stroke of bringing up his first professional century.

Ben Duckett also came close to three figures with 92, as the second-wicket pair easily outstripped the combined Kiwi batting card in a stand of 187. Tim Southee dismissed the pair in quick succession – Bethell nicking through to the wicketkeeper and Duckett dragging down his stumps.

Earlier, Atkinson turned the spotlight firmly with three-in-a-row to bring New Zealand’s underwhelming innings to a shuddering halt in his fifth over of the day.

The 26-year-old’s magical sequence contained three different modes of dismissal, starting when he uprooted Smith’s middle stump via an ill-judged leave and a toe edge. He doubled up when Henry backed away from a short ball that he fended to Duckett at gully.

Last man Southee stood between Atkinson and a place in the history books and he had no answer as the ball tailed in full and straight, smashing his front pad dead in front of middle stump.

Southee reviewed the lbw decision in hope more than expectation but England’s celebrations were already well underway. Rod Tucker raised his finger for a second time to seal the deal, with Atkinson registering the 50th Test hat-trick in world cricket – 47 in the men’s game and three in the women’s.

The last player to get one was South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj in 2021, with Moeen Ali the most recent to do so for England, against the Proteas at the Oval in 2017.

Brydon Carse (four for 46) started the rot when he dismissed Tom Blundell and Will O’Rourke in the space of three deliveries as New Zealand lost their last five batters for 39.

Zak Crawley hit the first two balls of England’s second innings for four but was unable to feed off the feelgood factor for long. He fell to Henry for the fourth time in a row, picking out midwicket to leave him with just 26 runs in the series so far.

But that is a concern for another time as Duckett and Bethell took full advantage of a 155-run first-innings cushion to notch the biggest stand of the series.

There were seven fours and three pulled sixes before the lunch break as the game slipped ever further away from New Zealand. Bethell was looking particularly lively, channelling the freewheeling fifty he scored in the fourth innings at Christchurch last week.

He motored to another half-century in 52 balls, beating Duckett’s mark by seven as he punctuated his elegant strokeplay behind square with some fierce drives. The second-wicket pair scored hungrily as New Zealand tired, Duckett unleashing an uppercut and Bethell stepping back to slam the spin of Glenn Phillips for six more down the the ground.

The prospect of becoming England’s youngest centurion since Denis Compton in 1939 was beginning to look like an inevitability but there was a warning on 90 when he charged Southee and toe-ended a pull into no-man’s land.

He moved to 96 with his 10th four, a compact steer to deep third, but was gone next ball as he flashed a thick edge behind. Duckett consoled him on his near miss then endured one of his own soon after, playing on as Southee angled the ball in from round the wicket.

That left Joe Root and Harry Brook, the top two batters in the ICC world rankings, together at the start of the evening session. They put on another 95 runs at a canter, Brook holing out for a rapid 55 and Root reaching 50 for the 100th time in Tests.

Thirty-five of those have been converted into hundreds and, after reaching stumps unbeaten on 73, he may have time to make it 36. Ollie Pope came and went for 10, while Ben Stokes swung hard in a late cameo worth 35no.