New Zealand 132 and 236 for 4 (Mitchell 97*, Blundell 90*) lead England 141 (Crawley 43, Southee 4-55) by 227 runs
By the close, New Zealand’s fifth-wicket stand stood at 180, three times bigger than the next-highest partnership in the match. No batter had reached fifty in the match before Blundell got there during the evening session, with Mitchell following him in the subsequent over. Their timely show of resistance tipped a see-sawing Test in the direction of New Zealand, after they had been precariously placed on 56 for 4 shortly after lunch.
The wicket of Devon Conway, gloving down the leg side off Stuart Broad, was the only one to fall after lunch, as Mitchell and Blundell applied themselves to mastering both the conditions and the opposition attack. Stokes brought himself on for a sustained spell for short-pitched bowling – similar to the one in Sydney during the Ashes which left him with a side strain and little else besides – and although Mitchell almost fell on the hook, his shot ballooning over mid-on, the tactic caused New Zealand few alarms.