New Zealand’s decision to bowl first backfired as England eased to 1-162 at tea on the opening day of the second cricket Test in Wellington.
England captain Alastair Cook fell cheaply but the hosts made little indent on opener Nick Compton and Jonathan Trott, who combined for an unbroken second-wicket stand of 136.
Compton was on 73 and Trott 68, the pair untroubled through a wicketless second session played in sunny conditions and on a Basin Reserve pitch that had flattened out.
They were 1-75 at lunch, with Cook’s dismissal for 17 the only hiccup. The prolific left-hander inexplicably chipped the first ball of seamer Neil Wagner’s second over to mid-on, where Peter Fulton held a simple catch.
Earlier, captain Brendon McCullum followed through with his pre-Test assertion that he would send the tourists in, believing conditions would remain good for batting over five days.
However, his new-ball attack of Trent Boult and Tim Southee extracted little swing or seam movement and were guilty of bowling a loose line.
Also, there was none of the reckless batting that marked England’s first innings of 167 in last week’s drawn first Test in Dunedin – also after McCullum had sent them in on a good batting wicket.
Compton, who scored his maiden century in the second innings at University Oval, continued to look composed in a 184-ball knock, which featured 10 fours.
The more fluent Trott, who scored 45 and 52 in Dunedin, had seen off 133 deliveries as he passed 50 for the 23rd time. In eight of those innings, he pushed on to score a century.
Wagner had taken 1-44 off 15 overs while spinner Bruce Martin was the pick of the home bowlers with figures of 0-23 off 16 overs.
Both teams were unchanged from the Test at University Oval.