Toss England 353 and 98 for 4 (Denly 21*, Stokes 13*) trail New Zealand 615 for 9 declared by 164 runs

New Zealand claimed the key wicket of Joe Root on the fifth morning at Mount Maungenui, but they were limited to a single breakthrough in the session. Signs were that bowling out England would be hard work, despite the pitch increasingly offering assistance to spin, as Joe Denly and Ben Stokes battled through until lunch.

Stokes, in particular, required one or two moments of luck against Mitchell Santner, at one point bending to look in agonised fashion between his legs as the ball deflected down and spun back past his stumps. The rough outside the left-hander's off stump was of particular interest to Santner, with several deliveries misbehaving - though Stokes showed great composure in dealing with what was thrown at him, which included an over from Kane Williamson before the interval.

Denly added 14 runs to his overnight score, to be unbeaten on 21 from 97 balls having largely resisted the temptation of New Zealand's seamers probing outside his stump; Stokes took 25 balls to get off the mark, punching Santner through the covers for one of five boundaries in the session, and was 13 off 56.

New Zealand's efforts were disciplined, with Santner looking threatening and Colin de Grandhomme chipping in with the wicket. However, the sight of Trent Boult heading off after bowling just one over, complaining of pain in his ribs, was a concern for Williamson.

The teams resumed for the final day at Bay Oval with two outcomes on the table. Either New Zealand would take the seven wickets required, and possibly knock off a few runs, to claim victory and a 1-0 lead in the series, or England and the pitch would conspire to deliver a draw in Mount Maunganui's maiden Test.

Following Santner's starring role on the fourth day, he resumed mid-over and extended his spell to 20 overs, probing away for any signs that the surface was beginning to wear. Tim Southee was first man Williamson opted to go to from the other end, but it was the switch to de Grandhomme that brought dividends just before the hour mark.

Root, fresh to the crease after Jack Leach's dismissal from the final ball of day four, had looked reasonably assured, clipping a couple of fours off Santner but otherwise taking his time to get in. However, facing a field with three catchers in the covers, and surprised by de Grandhomme going short, he steered limply to gully and walked off having failed to make a significant contribution to the England innings for the second time in the match.