England’s dominance over New Zealand was only halted by rain on the second day of the second Test in Wellington.
Three wickets each from James Anderson and Jack Leech reduced the home side to 138-7, 297 runs behind.
England’s relentless bowling and sharp catching – batsman Ollie Pope claimed two superb catches at Leach – boosted the tourists’ chances of enforcing the follow-on.
That decision will have to wait until Sunday after rain came to end nearly two hours of play in the evening session.
England had earlier declared from their overnight score of 315-3 to 435-8, scoring 120 runs in less than two hours.
Harry Brooke was dismissed for 186 off the seventh ball but Joe Root remained not out for 153 runs.
Play on the third day will once again start at an earlier time of 21:30 GMT to make up for some of the overs lost in the first two days.
Ruthless England cruise to a historic win.
It is turning into England’s most commanding performance of the winter, brutally dismantling a New Zealand side that is a shadow of the side crowned world Test champions two years ago.
Both teams found themselves 21-3 in the match, but while England mounted a brilliant counter-attack in the form of Root and Brooke’s 302-run stand, the Black Caps held on comfortably.
The concept of follow-on remains a question mark for England led by captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.
Is there a more aggressive option to bat in the second innings and take an insurmountable lead, or to send New Zealand once again to win by an innings?
Either way, England are on course for their seventh consecutive win and 11th in 12 Tests, while New Zealand are set for a first home series defeat in six years.
