Spin all-rounder Mitch Santner excelled with bat and ball to put New Zealand in a commanding position on the fourth day of their first test against England at Mt Maunganui.
Beginning the day as the perfect foil for wicketkeeper BJ Watling, Santner brought up his maiden test century, compiling 126 runs (including five sixes) before he was caught by Ollie Pope, off the bowling of Sam Curran.
By then, he had helped his plucky teammate to a double ton - the first NZ keeper to achieve the milestone - as New Zealand stretched their advantage over the English to 262 runs, before declaring just after tea.
Watling's stay ended for 205, when he edged Jofra Archer to England keeper Jos Buttler. By then, the damage had been done.
"It was nice to get a hundred, [as] it set the team up for a good score," Santner said.
"I think the way me and BJ built the partnership, we knew that if we could bat a long time and get a bit of a lead... the pitch was going to get harder to bat on.
"It's probably a little bit up and down with those cracks, so we just knew that we had to keep building the partnership and keep going."
England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley seemed intent on reaching stumps with their parntership intact, but that resilience last only 21 overs, before Santner and Watling combined to dismiss the latter.
Sibley had been lucky to survive the previous over, when he edged onto his pads and Watling dropped a juggling chance. He was not so lucky the second time.
Four overs later, Santner coaxed Burns into a looping catch to Colin de Grandhomme and just before stumps, night watchman Jack Leach selflessly walked, after Tom Latham made a diving one-handed catch off Santner.
Replays showed Leach did not make contact with the ball, before it ballooned off his pads to the close fielder.
As Leach and Joe Denly walked off, their team were still 207 astray, with just seven wickets in hand. Santner had bowling figures of 3/6 off eight overs.
"It's not going to be easy to take seven wickets," he said. "The ball is getting older and getting softer.
"We just have to stay in the [right] areas for longer and go from there."
Join us at 11am Monday for live updates of the final day of the first test against England at Mt Maunganui
