Alastair Cook scored his 24th test century and Nick Compton his first Saturday in an 231-run opening partnership which steered England towards parity with New Zealand on the fourth day of the first test.
At stumps England was 234-1, 59 runs behind New Zealand with a day to play.
Cook was out for 116 two overs before stumps and Compton reached the close on 102 not out, eclipsing his previous highest test score of 57, as the opening pair erased much of New Zealand’s first innings lead.
It was the largest England opening partnership against New Zealand, surpassing the 30-year-old record of 223 held by Graham Fowler and Chris Tavare, and batted England into a position to secure a draw when the match concludes on Sunday.
New Zealand had control of the match when it declared on Saturday at 460-9 in reply to England’s 167. But through the efforts of Cook and Compton, England undid much of the damage sustained when it was bowled out in two sessions on day two.
Cook led his team’s gritty fightback with an outstanding century, achieved in 294 minutes from 221 balls with 13 fours. But Compton’s supporting and complementary innings was equally important and impressive.
