England captured the vital wicket of Kane Williamson for 93 in a dramatic five-wicket final session to leave New Zealand 319-8 after day one of the first Test in Christchurch on Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The hosts went to tea at a healthy 193-3 and slumped to 252-7 before Glenn Phillips (41 not out) and Matt Henry (18) halted the collapse with a spirited 46-run stand for the eighth wicket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Shoaib Bashir, the only specialist spinner in the Test, was England's chief destroyer with 4-69.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Former skipper Williamson looked on track to put New Zealand into a dominant position after joining Tom Latham in the middle when they lost opener Devon Conway in the second over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He faced 14 deliveries before getting off the mark and went on to anchor 50-run partnerships with Latham, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Williamson, New Zealand's greatest Test run-scorer, was instrumental in getting them to 227-4 before he was undone attempting a cut shot that went to Zac Crawley at point to give Gus Atkinson his second wicket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England had started the Test with a roar, winning the toss and, bowling on a green top, having Atkinson remove Conway almost immediately.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But for the rest of the first two sessions, the composed Williamson swung the momentum back to New Zealand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He was unfazed when twice struck on the helmet by Brydon Carse and survived a vociferous appeal on 51 for caught behind when replays showed the ball hit the thigh-pad and not the bat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Williamson, who hit 10 fours, faced 197 deliveries in 274 minutes with temperatures hovering around 30 Celsius before being dismissed in the 90s for the first time in six years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In Williamson's previous 13 innings where he scored at least 90, the prolific batsman had gone on to register eight hundreds and five double centuries.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\r\n- Ravindra aggression -<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With moisture in the ground causing the England bowlers some early problems with their delivery stride, Latham punished every loose ball that came along.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But he had a lapse of concentration in the first over after the morning drinks break and he was caught behind off Carse for 47.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ravindra took on the aggressor role as he and Williamson added 68 for the third wicket before Ravindra clumsily mis-hit a loose full toss from Bashir and was gone for 34.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Mitchell accompanied Williamson through to tea but went for 19 in the second over after play resumed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The wickets of Williamson, Tom Blundell (17) and debutant Nathan Smith (three) quickly followed as New Zealand slumped to 252-7.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Henry added a brisk 18, leaving Phillips and Tim Southee (10) to see out the day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England debutant, 21-year-old Jacob Bethell, bowled one over of left-arm spin with his first Test delivery dispatched to the boundary by Williamson.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Uncapped Durham wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson was on Thursday added to England's squad in place of the injured Jordan Cox and is expected to arrive on Saturday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Cox fractured his right thumb during a net session last week forcing a reshuffle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n