Summary England reached 158-5 at the interval at Eden Park in trying to avoid a match and series defeat.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) - New Zealand quick Trent Boult trapped Joe Root lbw with his first delivery with the second new ball Tuesday for the only wicket before lunch on the fifth day of the third test, leaving England two more sessions to survive with five wickets remaining.
England reached 158-5 at the interval at Eden Park in trying to avoid a match and series defeat after starting the day on 90-4, with Root and Ian Bell having defied New Zealand for 48 overs.
England had no hope of achieving a record victory total by surpassing West Indies 415 to beat Australia in 2003 after being set 481 to win Monday. But after losing Alastair Cook (43), Jonathan Trott (37), Nick Compton (2) and nightwatchman Steve Finn (0), the visitors are hoping to survive the final day.
Bell and Root carried England to within 15 minutes of lunch without the loss of a wicket, but New Zealand patiently awaited the arrival of the second new ball as its best chance to break down the pair s stubborn resistance.
Boult rewarded that patient vigil when he pitched his first delivery in the 81st over on middle and off and caused it to swing back and hit Root, on 29, directly in front of his stumps. Root consulted Bell and the pair briefly considered referring the decision to the television umpire but, even to the naked eye, there seemed little hope of mercy from that quarter.
New Zealand then let itself down when, in a dramatic final over before lunch from Boult, catches were dropped to reprieve Bell and Bairstow. Bell, on 40, edged a drive but Dean Brownlie at fourth slip put down a sharp chance that flew to his right at waist height.
Kane Williamson then dropped Bairstow, on 6, in the gully, moving left to a chance that also flew from the outside edge.
Bell resumed on 8 not out and had yet to be joined by Root when play concluded on the fourth day. He has had a poor series to date, making 24 and 26 not out in the drawn first test at Dunedin, 11 in England s only innings in the second test at Wellington also drawn and 17 in England s first innings of 204 here.
Runs have almost become irrelevant to England, and they came at a glacial pace throughout the morning session. Bell and Root reached a 50 partnership from 158 balls as England s run-rate before lunch seldom approached two per over. But they hung on tenaciously as England attempts to force the third draw of the three-test series.
New Zealand persisted with Williamson, the part-time spinner who put his team in a strong position when he dismissed Cook and Finn. His apparently innocuous off-spin enticed both players to drive and both fell to catches in the slips.
Williamson had 2-5 from 6.1 overs at the end of play Monday and at the end of his spell before lunch that had moved on to 2-19 from 10 overs.
The disappointment to New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum was Bruce Martin. The left-arm spinner took nine wickets in the first two tests after making his debut at Dunedin at the age of 32, while England counterpart Monty Panesar took only two wickets in those matches.
McCullum would have hoped Martin made an impact Tuesday on a scuffed fifth-day pitch. But Martin bowled far too short through most of the morning session and created few problems for England.
Boult, who took 6-68 in England s first innings of 204 in reply to New Zealand s 443, made the vital breakthrough. He bowled fast and full and found enough movement in the air to beat Root s defensive shot. That dismissal leaves only Bell, Bairstow and Matt Prior among England s recognized batsmen before its tail is exposed.
