Harry Brook towered over the competition with an impressive century in Wellington, enabling England to gain the upper hand on the first day of the second Test against New Zealand. After a somewhat fortuitous 171 in last week's win in Christchurch, Brook was unstoppable at Basin Reserve, scoring 123 on a day where 15 wickets fell as the ball dominated the bat. England found themselves in trouble at 43 for four after being put in to bat and would have been in serious trouble had Brook not taken control of the precarious situation. He orchestrated a counter-attacking partnership of 174 with the revitalized Ollie Pope (66), guiding the tourists to 280 all out. This total seemed highly competitive by the time New Zealand stumbled to stumps at 86 for five, with Brydon Carse taking two late wickets and a smart catch as England built momentum.

Brook had earlier hit five sixes and 11 fours, further enhancing his remarkable record on the road. The 25-year-old has now scored seven of his eight Test centuries away from home, averaging a Bradman-esque 91.50 in just 10 appearances abroad. He may have been lucky in the first Test, where he was dropped five times, but he did not give a single clear chance until he was run out by Nathan Smith, misjudging a single just before tea. England's innings was a perfect example of 'Bazball', combining fearlessness with flaws. They were bowled out inside 55 overs but scored at a rate of 5.12 an over, with 154 of their runs coming from boundaries. The tone was set by Zak Crawley, who attempted to blast his way into form after making just one run in two innings last week. He doubled his 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, becoming only the second batter in history to clear the ropes in the first over of a Test, joining West Indian Chris Gayle's exclusive club.

Crawley continued to swing wildly at almost everything, playing and missing at an alarming rate before Matt Henry bowled him through the gate with a superb delivery. Somehow, Crawley outlasted partner Ben Duckett, who was caught at slip for an eight-ball duck as Henry took two wickets for no runs in a four-over burst. Joe Root's arrival did little to steady the ship, as the world's No 1 batter attempted to carve Smith to deep third despite a packed slip cordon. Mitchell made him pay for 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, hitting back-to-back drives before being caught down the leg-side off a wayward bumper. A period of calm was needed, but England rarely take that route. Instead, Brook and Pope accelerated, scoring 81 runs in 80 balls before lunch. Brook quickly demonstrated he was not to be dictated to, stepping outside leg and launching Smith out of the ground into the road.

Brook raced past 50, showcasing his power as he cleared the boundary boards at extra-cover, midwicket, and long-off. He reached his century in 91 balls, the second fastest of his England hundreds, leaving New Zealand wondering 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 dismissed 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, 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 a more subdued manner 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. 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 tempting delivery in the channel and rounded things off when Mitchell gloved a short ball down leg.

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