England enforced the follow-on after three wickets from Stuart Broad on the third morning in Wellington, before a stubborn start from New Zealand’s openers slowed their charge.
The Black Caps were dismissed for 209 at Basin Reserve to leave England 226 ahead and allow Ben Stokes to send the opposition straight back in.
He eagerly accepted England’s first follow-on since August 2020, but Tom Latham and Devon Conway showed enough resolve to reach the lunch break on 40 without loss after 19 overs.
Broad had earlier taken out a counter-attacking Tim Southee, Tom Blundell and Matt Henry to pick up figures of four for 61 and give Stokes the option to bowl again.
Home captain Southee started the day swinging hard and often at the England attack, blazing away to add 50 in 31 balls. That included a run of three sixes in one over from Jack Leach, with another one to follow when he hooked Ollie Robinson into the crowd.
He was four short of his career-best 77, made on debut against England in 2008, when the introduction of Broad ended his fun. One ball after being dropped by Leach at fine-leg he heaved again and skied straight to Zak Crawley at midwicket.
With the door ajar Broad swooped on his chance to bank some tidy figures, ending a defiant 79-ball stay from Blundell on 38 when he middled a cross-bat shot straight to mid-on.
Matt Henry was then thoroughly beaten by a short ball that he fenced to backward point, ending the innings after 53.2 overs. Stokes decided his attack had enough in the tank to back-up and go again, with James Anderson unused thus far and ready to lead with the new ball.
But England’s hunt for early breakthroughs went cold for the first time in the series as Latham and Conway held the line. Latham hit three boundaries on his way to 27no, with Conway playing defensively for 13no.
There was little for England to shout about, Conway nudging Robinson just past leg gully and Leach wide of Stokes at leg-slip. Neither qualified as a chance, but that was as good as it got before the end of the session.
