Ben Stokes suffered a hamstring injury as England slid towards defeat in their third Test with New Zealand at Seddon Park.

The tourists' captain suffered a recurrence of the injury that ruled him out of four Tests earlier this year on a frustrating third day for his side, who require 640 to snatch an improbable win in Hamilton.

Stokes pulled up on the follow-through of the second delivery in his third over on Monday, and was visibly distressed as he headed straight for the dressing room.

New Zealand resumed their second innings with a 340-run lead at 136-3.

Following a rain delay of two-and-a-half hours, Kane Williamson led the Black Caps' charge with 156, while Daryl Mitchell chipped in with 60 before they were finally bowled out for 453.

That left England requiring a world-record chase of 658 to win, but they lost Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley inside their allocated six overs and will resume day four on 18-2.

A day of New Zealand dominance - England have a mountain to climb!https://t.co/edmnRuX14i | #NZvENG pic.twitter.com/CeQ12sUN5G

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 16, 2024

Data Debrief: Too much strain for Stokes

Stokes' second hamstring injury in the space of five months is a huge blow for England.

However, the skipper still managed to hit a couple of personal bests. Indeed, he took his tally of overs bowled in the match to 36.2 - his most since June 2022 - while his total of 66.1 in the series is his most as captain. That workload, though, ultimately proved too much for the 33-year-old.

Williamson, meanwhile, tallied up his 33rd Test century as New Zealand put themselves in position to avoid a series whitewash.