Skittish England collapse as O'Rourke keeps Kiwis on top

There is rarely a dull moment with this England team, although there are times when their bowlers must surely crave the odd one.

- Ali Martin

The second day in Hamilton felt very much a case in point, with the cryptograph that is the Bazball form line suffering a lurch southwards through a slightly bewildering batting performance.

Perhaps it was coming and not just by virtue of a series already sewn up. Though well earned in the main, England's unassailable 2-0 lead over New Zealand involved a couple of telling fightbacks, starting from 71 for four in their first innings in Christchurch, then 43 for four at Basin Reserve. On both occasions, with assistance from Ollie Pope each time, their saviour was the flaming bat of Harry Brook.

But with the top once again knocked off at 77 for three, Brook's bat went the same way as the countless bottles of sauvignon blanc in the members' enclosure at Seddon Park - essentially plunged into an ice bucket. Walking out for his first outing as the world's No 1 Test batter, this time Brook collided with an impressively hostile burst of fast bowling from Will O'Rourke and chopped on to his stumps first ball.

That golden duck was probably the defining moment in a collapse in which England lost eight for 66 to be rolled for 143 in just 35.4 overs - their shortest first innings since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over. It meant a 204-run deficit and no chance of a follow-on. Not that England's position at stumps, trailing by 340 with a scarcely rested attack slogging for three wickets, was all down to Brook's demise.