Spinner Shoaib Bashir took 4/69 as England recovered from a poor start to reduce New Zealand to 319 for eight at the close of play on the opening day of the first Test on Thursday.
Seamers Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse also grabbed a couple of wickets apiece as
the tourists dragged New Zealand back every time they looked like pulling away at the Hagley Oval.
Kane Williamson was dismissed seven runs short of a hundred, skipper Tom Latham three shy of a quickfire half-century, and four wickets were taken at the cost of 59 runs immediately after tea.
Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry put together a stand of 46 for the eighth wicket to steady the innings but the latter holed out for 18 to give Bashir his fourth wicket.
“I think both teams worked really hard, and I think from our perspective, we were pleased with the partnerships throughout,” Williamson said. “But you always know there’s going to be opportunities there when the ball’s in hand and it’s doing a little bit.”
England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl on a wicket with a green tinge but the hosts denied him the early inroads he would have liked.
He did get an almost immediate return when Atkinson dismissed Devon Conway for two in the second over, while Carse also struck before lunch to halt Latham at 47.
Williamson and Rachin Ravindra put on 68 for the third wicket, however, before Stokes brought on Bashir, who separated them with a full toss to Rachin.
Williamson, recalled after a groin strain ruled him out of the recent series triumph in India, hit successive boundaries off Bashir to bring up a half-century off 90 balls and set about building towards his 33rd Test century. He fell in the 90s for the first time since 2018, to an Atkinson delivery.
Bashir, who can become the first spinner to bag five wickets in an innings at Hagley Oval, said the encouragement he received from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum gave him confidence.
“I wasn’t expecting to bowl 20-odd overs and take four wickets on day one, but I knew I had a job to do. Stokesy and Baz back me 100 per cent and that brings the best out of me,” Bashir told reporters.
Brief scores: New Zealand 319/8 (Kane Williamson 93, Glenn Phillips 41 n.o.; Shoaib Bashir 4/69). At Stumps, Day I.
