Kiwis dominate listless Eng

Openers Hamish Rutherford and Peter Fulton capitalised on the cheap dismissal of England by guiding New Zealand to 131 without loss at close of play on the second day of the first Test on Thursday.

Seamer Neil Wagner and left-arm spinner Bruce Martin had earlier taken four wickets apiece to shock England by dismissing the misfiring tourists for 167 in less than two sessions at the University Oval.

Rutherford finished the day on 77 not out in his first Test innings, while the Fulton had made 46 in his first Test since 2009 and New Zealand will resume on Friday needing just another 37 runs to take a first innings lead.

The opening batsmen made a nervous start against fired up pacemen James Anderson and Steve Finn with Fulton looking particularly tentative, pushing at the ball away from his body rather than getting behind the line. He settled, though, and when he hit successive boundaries off Anderson in the seventh over, England's Barmy Army of supporters sparked into life in an attempt to inspire their team.

The first "Barmy Army!" chants of the three-Test series only resulted in Rutherford twice slapping Finn through the covers to the boundary, however. The pair went on to post New Zealand's first opening stand of more than 100 in 11 Tests and ensured the home side took the honours on the first day of action after play on Wednesday was washed out by rain.

Wagner had set the tone for a good day for the hosts by blasting the top off England's vaunted batting order with three wickets - including captain Alastair Cook (10) and Kevin Pietersen in successive deliveries.

Score board

ENGLAND (I Innings)

Cook c Rutherford b Wagner     10
Compton b Southee     0
Trott c Boult b Martin     45
Pietersen lbw Wagner     0
Bell c Rutherford b Wagner     24
Root c Brownlie b Boult     4
Prior c Williamson b Martin     23
Broad c Browlie b Martin     10
Finn c Rutherford b Wagner     20
Anderson c Wagner b Martin     23
Panesar (not out)     1
Extras (B-4, W-2, LB-1)     7
Total (all out, 55 overs)     167
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-18, 3-18, 4-64, 5-71, 6-108, 7-109, 8-119, 9-166.
Bowling: Tim Southee 15-3-45-1, Trent Boult 15-4-32-1, Neil Wagner 11-2-42-4, Bruce Martin 14-4-43-4.
NEW ZEALAND
Fulton (batting)     46
Rutherford (batting)     77
Extras (LB-8)     8
Total (no loss, 42 overs)     131
Bowling: Anderson 9-1-35-0, Finn 12-2-35-0, Stuart Broad 10-1-23-0, Monty Panesar 8-1-26-0, Jonathan Trott 2-0-4-0, Root 1-1-0-0.