Harry Brook stood head and shoulders above the crowd with a magnificent century in Wellington, allowing England to take charge on day one of the second Test against New Zealand.
Having rode his luck on the way to 171 in last week’s victory in Christchurch, Brook was imperious at Basin Reserve, smashing 123 on a day where 15 wickets fell as ball dominated bat.
England were reeling at 43 for four after being sent in and would have been sunk had Brook not taken charge of a precarious situation. He steered a counter-attacking stand of 174 alongside the rejuvenated Ollie Pope (66), with the fifth-wicket pair guiding the tourists to 280 all out.
That looked more than competitive by the time New Zealand staggered to stumps at 86 for five, Brydon Carse snatching two late wickets and a smart catch as England built to a crescendo.
Brook had earlier struck five sixes and 11 fours, further burnishing his staggering record on the road. The 25-year-old has now hit seven of his eight Test tons away from home, averaging a Bradman-esque 91.50 in just 10 appearances on his travels.
He may have had luck on his side in the first Test, when he was dropped five times, but he did not offer a single concrete chance until he was run out by Nathan Smith, misjudging a single on the stroke of tea.
England’s innings was ‘Bazball’ in its purest form, both fearless and flawed. They were bowled out inside 55 overs but scored at a rate of 5.12 an over, with 154 of their runs in boundaries.
The tone was set by Zak Crawley, who tried to blast his way into form after making one run in two innings last week. He doubled that match tally with an inside edge off the first ball of the day, then drilled Tim Southee’s sixth delivery for six down the ground.
In doing so he became just the second batter in history to clear the ropes in the first over of a Test, joining West Indian Chris Gayle’s exclusive club. He continued to throw his hands wildly at almost everything, playing and missing at an alarming rate before Matt Henry bowled him through the gate with a beauty.
Somehow Crawley still outlasted partner Ben Duckett, caught at slip for an eight-ball duck as Henry pieced together a four-over burst of two wickets for no runs.
Joe Root’s arrival failed to calm things, the world’s number one batter attempting to carve Smith to deep third despite a packed slip cordon. Mitchell made him rue the attempt, diving one-handed for a fine catch as the hosts put their previous handling errors behind them.
Jacob Bethell was the fourth to go, nailing back-to-back drives before being caught down the leg-side off a wayward bumper. A period of calm was in order, but England rarely take that route. Instead, Brook and Pope put their foot to the floor with 81 runs in 80 balls before lunch. Brook quickly showed he was in no mood to be dictated to, stepping outside leg and launching Smith out of the ground into the road.
Brook galloped past 50, showing off his power as he took turns to clear the boundary boards at extra-cover, midwicket and long-off. He sauntered to three figures in 91 balls, the second fastest of his England hundreds, as New Zealand wondered where to turn.
It was Will O’Rourke who found the answer, unsettling Pope with a couple of lifters before he flapped an attempted pull to short-leg. He also took out Ben Stokes for just two, squaring him up from round the wicket and taking the edge.
Brook’s wicket was the one they badly needed, though, and he gave it up softly in the last over of the afternoon session – setting off for a run that never looked on as Smith ran him out in his follow-through. That was the first of four wickets in 16 balls, as the Kiwis ran through the tail.
The hosts approached their batting in more subdued fashion but mirrored England’s struggles. Brook held Devon Conway in the cordon as Gus Atkinson struck with the new ball and Stokes bowled Tom Latham for his first wicket since July.
And then it was over to Carse. The rising star of England’s attack cleaned up star man Williamson with a textbook delivery that beat the bat and hit the top of off, only to be called for a painfully tight no-ball.
Initially distraught he turned his frustration into fuel, racing in from square leg to make a tricky bat-pad catch as Chris Woakes got Rachin Ravindra cheaply.
Carse tied up his loose ends by having Williamson caught behind for 36 with a tempter in the channel and rounded things off when Mitchell gloved a short ball down leg.