Williamson gives solid start to New Zealand against England in 1st Test

Christchurch : Kiwi batter Kane Williamson helped New Zealand seat in the driver's seat of the first Test match against England at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday.

At Day 01 stumps, New Zealand stood at 319/8 with Glenn Phillips (41*) and Tim Southee (10*) unbeaten on the crease.

Williamson narrowly missed his 33rd Test century as the Black Caps made a decent start to the first Test against England in Christchurch.

Williamson looked his usual self in his first match back from injury as he stroked a stylish 93 after being sent into bat by England captain Ben Stokes.

According to ICC, Williamson barely took a risk during his time at the crease, combining for 50-run partnerships with skipper Tom Latham (47), Rachin Ravindra (34) and then Daryl Mitchell (19) as the hosts raced to the tea break at 193/3 and in control.

But the former Kiwi skipper was undone by some extra bounce from Gus Atkinson (2/61) shortly after tea as he fell in the 90s for the first time in more than six years as England fought back late in the day courtesy of some excellent spin bowling from Shoaib Bashir (4/69).

Bashir collected the final three wickets of the day to provide England with some hope, with Glenn Phillips and Tim Southee (10*) safely negotiating the last few overs against the second new ball.

New Zealand are still in contention of reaching next year's ICC World Test Championship Final but will likely need to sweep England 3-0 at home to sneak into the one-off Test that is scheduled for Lord's in June 2025.

England cannot reach the World Test Championship Final this year but made a strong start to the Test when Atkinson had Devon Conway (2) caught and bowled in the second over with Williamson arriving at the crease with his team once again in trouble and requiring him to perform.

Brief score: New Zealand 319/8 (Kane Williamson 93, Glenn Phillips 41*, Rachin Ravindra 34; Shoaib Bashir 4/69) vs England.