CHRIS WOAKES and Brydon Carse's effective seam bowling, combined with a dominant batting display, put England in a commanding position on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.
At stumps, New Zealand were 155-6, trailing by four runs with only four wickets remaining. Daryl Mitchell was unbeaten on 31, accompanied by Nathan Smith on one. England had earlier posted 499 in their first innings, gaining a 151-run lead, thanks to Harry Brook's 171.
"We're in an amazing position to go on and win the game," said Brook, who capitalised on five dropped catches during his innings. "I had a lot of luck, didn't I? Thankfully I cashed in."
New Zealand rued their fielding errors, with Matt Henry expressing disappointment: "Fielding's something we pride ourselves on, and that's the part that hurts. We work hard on it, and it's usually where we turn a game on its head."
Brook's innings was supported by Ben Stokes' 80 and Ollie Pope's 77, helping England recover from 71-4.
England's seamers strike
England's seamers capitalised on the strong lead, with Tom Latham falling for one in the third over to give Woakes his first wicket. Devon Conway added eight before miscuing a shot off Carse, leaving New Zealand at 23-2.
Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra briefly steadied the innings with a 41-run partnership. However, Ravindra departed for 24, pulling a short ball from Carse to mid-wicket.
Woakes struck again, removing Williamson for 61 and Tom Blundell for a golden duck. Williamson was trapped lbw, while Blundell edged a delivery to the keeper. Glenn Phillips survived Woakes' hat-trick ball but later fell to Carse for 19 after a review upheld an lbw decision.
England’s batting domination
Earlier, England resumed on 319-5 and scored briskly at six runs per over before being bowled out after lunch. Brook, who was dropped five times, made the most of his chances. He reached his 150 in style, charging Tim Southee and driving to the cover boundary.
Brook's innings included 15 fours and three sixes before he edged Matt Henry to wicketkeeper Tom Blundell. Henry ended with figures of 4-84, while Smith took 3-141.
England are now poised to claim the first Test victory, with New Zealand's hopes hanging by a thread.
(With inputs from AFP)
Siddharth and Freida Pinto team up for Netflix’s Unaccustomed Earth adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s short stories Getty Images 
Johnwellsproductions Instagram PostInstagram/
Actor Siddharth's Instagram postInstagram Screengrab/
Jhumpa Lahiri’s award-winning Unaccustomed Earth comes to Netflix with a global ensemble castGetty Images 
Taylor Swift's lawyer denies deposition agreement in Tustin Baldoni- Blake Lively lawsuit Getty Images 
Taylor Swift has "no material role" in legal case, says lawyerGetty Images
Bryan Freedman, speaks to the press at US District Court after a pre-trial hearing in New York on February 3, 2025Getty Images
Taylor Swift and Blake Lively prior to Super Bowl LVIII between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City ChiefsGetty Images
U.S. judge rules Blake Lively\u2019s harassment claims were legally protected speech Getty Images 
Coolie hits £47m worldwide as fake ‘big mistake’ quote on Aamir Khan cameo goes viral Instagram/sunpictures