Red-hot Harry Brook scored a brilliant unbeaten 184 to keep England firmly in control against New Zealand in the second Test in Wellington on Friday.
Joe Root was also unbeaten on a brilliant 101 as the tourists smashed their way to 315-3 before rain ended the opening day of the series decider.
Brook’s breathtaking performance at Basin Reserve saw him become the first player to score 800 or more runs in his first nine Test innings.
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The 24-year-old came to the crease with England tottering at 21-3 inside the first seven overs.
Given the precarious position England were in when Brooke came out to bat, Brooke rated his Wellington innings as the best of his early Test career.
“We lost the first three wickets, which isn’t ideal, but then I came out and tried to respond a bit and be as positive as I could. Thankfully it worked out,” said Brook.
New Zealand won the toss and decided to bowl on a green wicket.
That decision bore immediate reward as the hosts quickly dismissed England’s top order of Zak Crawley (two), Ben Duckett (nine) and Ollie Pope (10).
Matt Henry and skipper Tim Southee did the early damage for the hosts under blue skies.
Henry, having missed the First Test with the birth of his child, forced Crawley to be caught behind as the opener’s sticky run continued.
All-rounder Michael Bracewell then took two spectacular catches in the slips to dismiss Pope and then Duckett.
Watch: Harry Brook scored his fourth Test century in 9 innings, broke many records
The removal of Duckett after a diving catch by Bracewell gave Southee his 700th international wicket across all formats, becoming the first New Zealander to reach the milestone.
the brooke show
It then turned out to be a Brooke show as he took his Test average above 100 in only his sixth match.
Brook was player of the match in the First Test with back-to-back half-centuries to help England win by 267 runs.
He continued his remarkable start to his England Test career with an impressive unbeaten innings of 24 fours and five sixes. He scored 184 runs in 169 balls.
Along with former captain Root, he helped England out of trouble at 101-3 at lunch.
Brook, in particular, and Root then produced a dazzling display of the “buzzball” – the aggressive cricket England are now famous for under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
They shared an unbeaten partnership of 294 runs which left New Zealand with no reply.
“Having got to that start – which wasn’t ideal – all we could do was bat the way we’ve played over the last few months and build a partnership,” Brook said.
“Over the years I have always enjoyed watching ‘Ruty’ play, but I probably enjoy watching him bat as much as I do.
“Being both from Yorkshire, we have had a lot of time with a bit of banter.
“I feel like we both enjoyed ourselves out there. His defense was spot-on.”
No stone was left unturned as the afternoon passed with Brook scoring his last three centuries against Pakistan in December.
Root was more consistent but no less decisive, scoring his 29th Test century but first in eight Tests.
In the end, only the rain could stop them.
England, who have won 10 of their last 11 Tests, stuck with the team that won the opening game.
New Zealand made two changes with Will Young and Henry coming in for Scott Kuggeleijn and Blair Tickner.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)