Brook, Root centuries power England on day one

England followed up their impressive victory in Mount Maunganui with another destructive batting performance on day one of the second Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Bazball was in full flow as Harry Brook continued his form from the first Test of the series, smashing 24 fours and five sixes in a career-high score of 184* from 169 balls. The 24-year-old was well-complemented by Joe Root, who notched up a century of his own to take the visitors to a commanding score of 315 for three in just 65 overs before rain brought an early close of play.

The play began with the seamers dominating on a green pitch at the Basin Reserve. Tim Southee promptly decided to bowl after winning the toss, and his decision seemed to have paid off as the Blackcaps picked up three early wickets in the morning. The returning Matt Henry got things going for New Zealand with the new ball, nicking off Zak Crawley in his second over and inducing another edge off Ollie Pope that flew to Michael Bracewell at third slip.

An over later, Bracewell took a jaw-dropping one-handed catch diving to his left to remove Ben Duckett, leaving England in a tricky position at 21 for three. The visitors, though, only had one answer to the threat of any batting collapse and struck an immediate counter-punch with some aggression from Harry Brook. While Joe Root survived an early LBW shout and showed more caution against the early movement, the youngster attacked the Kiwi pacers with disdain.

Brook carved Tim Southee through the off-side to begin his onslaught and didn’t show any respite against Neil Wagner or Matt Henry as he brought up his half-century in 51 balls before Lunch. The conditions eased out considerably for the batters in the afternoon, and the 24-year-old continued this blitz through the second session, racing away to his fourth Test century in 107 balls.

Brook’s carnage continued after he reached the three-figure mark. The Yorkshireman ended the day just 16 runs away from a maiden international double-ton, while also breaking the record for the most runs by any Test batter in their first nine innings.

Joe Root played second-fiddle to Harry Brook for most of day one but upped his strike rate towards the close of play to bring up his 29th Test hundred. The two added a mammoth 294 runs for the fourth wicket before rain brought a premature close of play, with England finishing the day on 315 for three.