Stuart Broad’s six for 51 put England on course to push for victory, weather permitting, over New Zealand after day three of the second Test.
Brendon McCullum (69) threatened to delay England significantly in this middle match of three, with a forecast for increasingly heavy rain a major complication for the remainder of the contest.
But Broad led an admirable performance from the tourists’ pace attack to bowl the Kiwis out for a teatime 254 in reply to 465 all out at the Basin Reserve.
Then after enforcing the follow-on, in 33 more overs England had to settle for just Hamish Rutherford’s wicket as Peter Fulton and Kane Williamson guided the hosts to 77 for one at stumps.
Broad, wicketless before succumbing to injury during a historic series victory in India before Christmas, trebled his winter Test tally here.
He was in no way flattered either by his figures after a fine display of swing and seam bowling on a pitch still offering him and others minimal assistance.
Broad and James Anderson took two wickets in four balls in the first half-hour this morning – and then after McCullum dominated a century stand with BJ Watling (60), Steven Finn finally saw off the New Zealand captain and Tim Southee in successive overs with the old ball.
McCullum’s limited-overs runs kept the Twenty20 and one-day international series competitive, before England twice prevailed 2-1 on this tour.
He was at it again too in last week’s drawn first Test in Dunedin, with a typically belligerent 74, and here took his half-century count to five in succession and six in his last seven innings.
England’s initial breakthrough today was a bonus, achieved in unlikely circumstances.
Williamson drove a full-length ball back at the perfect height for Broad to hold a sharp return chance just to his left in his follow-through.
It was a mode of dismissal which could hardly have been part of the plan.
But as the previous night, when Broad took two in two, England again cashed in quickly – thanks to Anderson this time, who got one in the right place to Dean Brownlie and hit him deep in the crease with a delivery which nipped back.
The height of impact gave him hope on DRS, but simulation narrowly vindicated Asad Rauf’s lbw decision.
Broad had already beaten McCullum’s outside edge first ball, and did so again with a very good outswinger three overs later before also snaking one back to hit him on the pad just outside the line of off stump.
In between, though, New Zealand’s danger man cracked Broad for two back-foot fours through the off side and then pulled him for a mighty six over square-leg.
By lunch he was past 50, from 64 balls, having hit six fours and that six.
Three more boundaries followed from him at the start of an afternoon session which saw McCullum escape a marginal lbw review against Anderson – who also had Watling dropped on 21 by Jonathan Trott at second slip.
Finn was soon back in the attack instead, in tandem with Monty Panesar to give Anderson and Broad a rest for exertions still to come, and it was he who brought the follow-on back into the equation.
McCullum fell as Watling ought to have, safely held by Trott, and Southee mishooked more extra bounce from Finn to Broad at long-leg.
But it took another 12 overs, until the third with the second new ball, before another very good delivery from Broad had Watling edging behind – leaving the Kiwis with 26 more runs to eke out from numbers nine to 11 to avoid having to bat again straight away.
That target was halved by the time Broad bagged his fifth wicket, taking one away off the pitch to have left-hander Neil Wagner also caught behind for a duck.
Then in his next over, England’s man-of-the-moment finished the job when hapless Trent Boult was last out via an inside-edge to Matt Prior – leaving a defiant Bruce Martin unbeaten on 21.
Given the predicted advance of Cyclone Sandra on Sunday, England had no sensible option but to enforce the follow-on.
But it was no surprise that they then found progress slow through the evening session, with conditions still very much in the batsmen’s favour and a hard-worked attack in which Anderson was soon showing distress signals.
A moment of brilliance from Ian Bell at leg slip, immediately after being positioned there by Alastair Cook, brought a one-handed diving catch to see the back of Rutherford in Panesar’s first over.
England’s only other opportunity was another half-chance given by Williamson on one, which Prior could not take at full length down the leg side off Finn.
