Matt Henry, New Zealand's man of steel, drags his team back into the contest

Matt Henry has a 10cm titanium cable and two screws in his spine since a career-saving surgery in 2012.

New Zealand should be grateful his spine is made of steel. He has carried his country on his back and dragged them back into the second Test with a sensational seven-wicket haul, before Tom Latham and Kane Williamson shared a critical century stand to erase a first-innings deficit and give the hosts a chance of setting Australia a tricky fourth-innings chase.

Henry's contribution was mighty. There were times when he looked like a one-man attack as runs flowed with ease from the other end. Australia's batters looked under little threat at one end, yet when they faced Henry at the other, the Hagley Oval pitch looked like a minefield and he was near-on unplayable.

"An incredible effort. Outstanding performance really," Williamson said. "His style of bowling on surfaces that have offered a little bit makes life quite difficult. It moves late and certainly the Australian bowlers do it very well as well. It was great for Matt to make such a valuable contribution. It's important we try and back that up."

Henry spoke on the first night of copying Josh Hazlewood's day-one blueprint on his way to bagging three of Australia's top four.

He doubled down on day two with some impeccable bowling. He forced a mistake from nightwatcher Nathan Lyon to have him caught at slip. He then pinned Mitchell Marsh lbw for a duck with one that nipped back in a touch. Later, as Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins clubbed boundaries at the other end to push Australia's lead towards 100, he was able to prise them both out. He had Starc caught behind with one angling in and nipping away before trapping Cummins with a clever yorker as he walked down the pitch at him.

The help he got from the other end was mainly from Australia. Alex Carey gifted his wicket to Glenn Phillips again before the latter turned to Superman flying high to his right at gully to snare a one-handed screamer to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne after he'd lashed a cut shot off Tim Southee.

Henry richly deserved his seven-wicket haul given all that he has been through. Beyond the surgery early in his career, he has been plagued by other injuries over the last decade. Then, when he has been fit, he has had limited opportunities with Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and Kyle Jamieson all ahead of him at various times.

"He's spent a lot of time carrying the drinks and being in and around the group without actually getting a lot of opportunity," Williamson said. "He's a real leader with the ball and has had a couple of fantastic performances already in this series. If there's something in the wicket, he's certainly a guy that's going maximise that.

"He bowls such a great length and moves it both ways. A similar nature I suppose, a slightly different trajectory, to the Aussie bowlers in terms of their skill sets and moving the ball off the seam both ways.

"He got some great rewards and has been bowling beautifully, not just in Test cricket but all formats. So it's great to see all the opportunities that he's getting, and he's certainly maximising those."

Henry now has 15 wickets for the series and has caught Australia's batters off guard. They would not have viewed him as a major threat given his previous returns against them. In three Test matches against Australia before the series, he had figures of 4 for 440 from 127 overs. His previous outing against them in Christchurch had yielded 0 for 134 from 41 overs.

But he now wishes he could take this Hagley Oval pitch with him wherever he goes, having taken 28 wickets at 15.85 including two seven-wicket hauls in his last four outings.

There has been a fear during this series that Australia have a mental stranglehold over the Black Caps and that repeated past failures have spooked them despite their opponents being vulnerable.

Henry has suffered no such affliction. His steel spine and his steely resolve have given New Zealand hope.