New Zealand’s grip on the first Test is being loosened by an England opening pair who have soldiered 54 overs to tea on the fourth day in Dunedin.
Captain Alastair Cook was unbeaten on 64 and Nick Compton 60 not out at the break, neither troubled as the tourists moved to 0-139 in their second innings on Saturday.
The ease of their partnership was in stark contrast to England’s wasteful first innings of 167 at University Oval on Thursday.
The pair had knocked off nearly half of New Zealand’s first innings lead of 293 runs after captain Brendon McCullum declared in the morning at 9-460.
The discipline that took England to 0-58 at lunch continued in an uneventful second session as the Black Caps struggled for penetration on a lifeless pitch.
Not a single chance was created as the visitors saw off one less over than England’s entire first-innings stay.
New Zealand are the only opponents the prolific Cook hasn’t scored a Test century against while Compton also has motivation to score big, as his place in the team is under threat.
Compton’s first-innings duck followed a debut series in India last year in which the 29-year-old made a series of gritty starts but failed to push on.
Despite overcast conditions on Saturday, New Zealand’s seam attack struggled for sideways movement in the air and off the brown pitch.
Trent Boult bowled a tight 12 overs for 17 runs but fellow-left-arm seamer Neil Wagner and spinner Bruce Martin, who both claimed four wickets on Thursday, were ineffective.
Earlier, New Zealand brightened the start of another gloomy day with some rambunctious batting before declaring.
McCullum gave his team 44 minutes at the crease which they used to good effect, blasting 58 runs for the loss of two wickets off just 8.4 overs.
An aggressive McCullum notched his 26th half century, needing just 17 balls to race from 44 overnight to 74 before skying a Stuart Broad delivery in trying to hit a fourth six. He also cracked nine boundaries in a whirlwind 59-ball innings.
Martin scored 44 while Broad’s figures improved to 3-118.