New Zealand removed England captain Alastair Cook cheaply but the tourists clawed their way to 1-75 on Thursday’s first day of the second cricket Test in Wellington.
Captain Brendon McCullum asked England to bat after winning the toss but the New Zealand attack struggled to extract the swing or seam movement he had hoped for in the first 28 overs.
Opener Nick Compton was on 34 and Jonathan Trott on 23 at lunch, with neither having offered a chance in warm conditions.
Cook had also looked comfortable in reaching 17 before inexplicably chipping the first ball of left-arm seamer Neil Wagner’s second over to mid-on, where Peter Fulton held a simple catch.
Compton scored his maiden century in last week’s drawn first Test in Dunedin and continued to look composed in facing 86 balls on Thursday.
He drove strongly to New Zealand’s fuller deliveries, confident the pitch contained few terrors.
Trott, who scored 45 and 52 at Dunedin, had seen off 51 deliveries in circumspect style.
New-ball bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult were guilty of setting the radar too wide in their opening spells, allowing the opening pair to settle.
Wagner had taken 1-20 off six overs while spinner Bruce Martin had sent down four overs without success.
Both teams are unchanged from the Test at University Oval.
McCullum also won the toss in that match and asked England to bat, dismissing them for 167 in the first innings.