England were bowled out for 58 in the first session of the first Test on Thursday, relying on tailender Craig Overton to avoid being dismissed for the lowest score in Test history at the same Eden Park where New Zealand set the record of 26 runs nearly 63 years ago.
Trent Boult took a career-best 6/32 and Tim Southee 4/25 as New Zealand dismissed England in 20.4 overs and 95 minutes after winning the toss in the first-ever day-night test to be played in New Zealand. The total was the sixth-lowest in England’s test history and its lowest against New Zealand, which was previously 64 runs.
The pink ball, being used in a test in New Zealand for the first time, swung immensely in the late afternoon at Eden Park and England's batsmen, lacking test-match preparation, were unequal to the task of batting against it. Boult and Southee became the first New Zealanders to bowl unchanged through a test innings.
England lost its first two wickets at six, its fourth, fifth and sixth at 18 and its seventh and eighth at 23.
At that point it seemed that the burden it has borne for more than half a century of being dismissed more cheaply than any other team in test history, was to be lifted from New Zealand's shoulders. New Zealand was bowled out by England for 26 at Eden Park on March 25, 1955.
But Overton took a boundary from Boult's bowling in the 15th over to carry England past the dreaded mark. He then hit a six from Boult in the 19th over to guide England past 45, its lowest total in tests which was set against Australia in 1887.
Overton, included as a bowler and batting at number 10, saved England from much greater disaster by scoring an unbeaten 33 which was more than all of his teammates combined. The next best, and the only other batsman to reach double figures, was Mark Stoneman with 11.
Captain Joe Root, promoted to number 3 in the England order, fell without scoring and without adding to the score two overs later, undone by a brilliant delivery from the left-armer Boult which angled across and swung back to hit off stump.
Dawid Malan (2) also fell to Boult and provided the first of two catches to wicketkeeper B J Watling. Watling also caught Stoneman (11) at 18-4 to give Southee his first wicket.
England's lineup contained seven left-handers and Boult bowled superbly to them, operating from wide on the crease.
Ben Stokes (0), playing his first test for England in six months due to a pending court case, was bowled by Boult with a ball which swung back when the batsman was expecting it to swing away, hitting off. Jonny Bairstow hadn't scored when he played a forcing shot back down the pitch which Southee cupped in two hands.
Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali followed and England was 23-8, in the midst of a collapse of record proportions.
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