Close England 92 for 2 (Trescothick 37)
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It was a day of glorious sunshine but – thanks to overnight rain, poor covering and even worse drainage – it was also a day of just 30 overs. In that time England were thankful not to lose more than two wickets after being put in on a pitch that had spent most of the week sweating and looked green even after it was mown shortly before the start of play at 3.30pm. After two days at Christchurch last week, the game was past the halfway stage. But after two days here, it's about a fifth of the way through the one-quarter stage, and New Zealand will have to bowl England out quickly tomorrow if they are to go to Auckland next week with a chance of winning the series.

Conditions didn't prove to be as bowler-friendly as expected, but even so, the way New Zealand used the new ball didn't bode well. One or two deliveries from Ian Butler rose sharply outside off stump, but Chris Drum bowled too wide and England were able to shoulder arms with worrying frequency.

Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan both guided boundaries to third man early on, and Trescothick flashed Drum over backward point as England batted as if they were the ones who were behind in the series. But Drum finally got his line right, and as Vaughan played a stuck-in-the-crease forward-defensive, the ball seamed away just enough to take the outside edge and fly waist-high to Stephen Fleming at first slip (26 for 1). Vaughan was out for 7, to make it 34 runs in three innings as opening batsman in the series so far, and Fleming proved he was still up to fielding in the slips after hurting a finger in practice.

Chris Martin, chosen ahead of Daryl Tuffey after recovering from a back strain, bowled a testing line to the left-handers – as Richard Hadlee promised he would – but when he overpitched, Trescothick spanked him through the covers, and when he dropped short, Trescothick hooked him behind square for four more.

The fifty came up in the 19th over, and England upped the tempo. Mark Butcher leaned into an elegant cover-drive off Daniel Vettori, who had been introduced as early as the 14th over, and Trescothick thumped Vettori over midwicket for another boundary in the same over with his favourite slog-sweep.

But Trescothick is often at his most vulnerable when the adrenalin starts to pump, and when he tried to do the same to the next delivery, he only succeeded in getting underneath it, and Lou Vincent circled like a grounded vulture at square leg (63 for 2). Trescothick had made 37, and not for the first time in his brief career had fallen prey to a wild heave.

Nasser Hussain began busily against Vettori, sweeping whenever possible, and when Vettori attempted to counter that by adjusting his line, Hussain leant back and cut him powerfully to the point boundary. There was just about time for Butcher to ease Drum through extra cover, but the light was closing in, and when umpires Hair and Dunne offered it to the batsmen, they had no hesitation in going off.

A session that had been scheduled to contain 45 overs had lasted only 30, but England weren't complaining. Their plan now will to be bat New Zealand out of the game. Local sages predicted before the start of play that the pitch would eventually flatten out. If that process begins tomorrow, England should leave Wellington with their lead intact.

Teams
New Zealand 1 Matthew Horne, 2 Mark Richardson, 3 Lou Vincent, 4 Stephen Fleming (capt), 5 Nathan Astle, 6 Craig McMillan, 7 Adam Parore (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Ian Butler, 10 Chris Drum, 11 Chris Martin.

England 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Michael Vaughan, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain (capt), 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Mark Ramprakash, 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Ashley Giles, 9 James Foster (wk), 10 Andrew Caddick, 11 Matthew Hoggard.

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Lawrence Booth is assistant editor of Wisden.com. You can read his reports here throughout the tour.

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