Joe Root and Ben Stokes led the way to help England overcome a shaky start to post 354-7 at the close of play on day one of the first Test against New Zealand.
The hosts struggled to get going in the opening session of play, and they found themselves flagging on 30-4 following the loss of Adam Lyth, Gary Ballance, Alastair Cook and Ian Bell early on.
However, England produced a decent turnaround, with Stokes eventually being sent packing by Mark Craig for 92, while Root (98) fell agonisingly close of a century of his own.
Jos Buttler (67) added a further 103 runs to England's improved tally with Moeen Ali (49*), although he was dismissed lbw off the final ball.
Ali will now return to the crease when play resumes tomorrow morning.
