There is rarely a dull moment with this England team although there are times when their bowlers must surely crave the odd one. The second day in Hamilton felt very much a case in point, with the crypto-graph that is the Bazball form line suffering a lurch southwards through a slightly bewildering batting performance.

Perhaps it was coming. Though well earned, England’s unassailable 2-0 lead over New Zealand was built on a couple of fightbacks, starting from 71 for four in their first innings in Christchurch, then 43 for four at the Basin Reserve. On both occasions, with help from Ollie Pope, it was the flaming bat of Harry Brook that came to their rescue.

But with the top once again knocked off here at 77 for three, that bat was plunged into an ice bucket like one of the bottles of Sauvignon Blanc in the members’ enclosure. Brook, in his first outing as the world’s No 1 Test batter, collided with a dynamic, hostile spell of fast bowling from Will O’Rourke and chopped his first ball on to the stumps.

That golden duck was arguably the defining moment in a collapse that saw England rolled for 143in just 35.4 overs - their shortest first innings since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over - and ship a 204-run deficit. Not that their position at stumps - trailing by 340 with a scarcely-rested attack having picked up three wickets - was all down to Brook’s demise or English fecklessness as a whole.

To say as much would be to fall into the Baztrap, where events are solely viewed through one prism. Even with Tim Southee creaking into retirement, New Zealand were good for their dominance on the day. It began with the completion of a calculated 76 from Mitch Santner in his side’s 347, followed by a clinic from Matt Henry and O’Rourke that saw New Zealand’s new ball pro and coming man combine for seven wickets.

New Zealand’s attack was also more varied than was previously the case, with Santner sending down the first spin witnessed in the match and picking up three wickets in three overs. Having sat things out since India, where his 13-wicket match in Pune sealed that historic series win, he shut down Stokes lbw on the sweep, teased an edge from Pope on the push, and snaffled a tepid return catch off Brydon Carse.

It all followed a slightly confusing first 70 minutes of play in which Stokes set the field back to Santner from the outset - pretty much six balls of every over, allowing a single each time - and watched him add a further 32 runs alongside O’Rourke at No 11. Somehow, even with the damage minimal, it seemed to set the tone for proceedings.

Not that England wasted much time wiping off the difference it made, Zak Crawley picking off four boundaries from Southee’s opening over and England racing to 32 from just 25 balls. But the very next delivery recent history repeated itself, Henry removing the opener for the fifth time in the series with a smart caught and bowled. After Ben Duckett was pinned lbw in the very same over, England reached 52 for two at lunch.

Enter O’Rourke, who despite suffering a bit of tap in the first two Tests had impressed through the pace and bounce he generates from a 6ft 4in frame. Here the 23-year-old combined both to deadly effect, starting with a roughing up of Jacob Bethell that was followed by a sucker ball skewed to backward point. Joe Root, seemingly untroubled 32, cut to gully when cramped by a bit of nip, before Brook’s bump back to earth.

More to follow...