At one point in England's stunning capitulation at Eden Park yesterday, Trent Boult looked up at the scoreboard.
''It said 23 for eight. That was pretty surreal,'' New Zealand's bowling spearhead said.
Too right, as England folded under the serious examination from Boult and his new ball partner Tim Southee, who rolled the tourists' for 58 in 20.4 overs, their sixth lowest test total ever and worst against New Zealand.
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Captain Kane Williamson carried New Zealand to 175 for three by stumps and ideally placed to press on in search of victory to make New Zealand's first home pink ball test one to savour.
Boult's six for 32 are his test-best figures. He's had a long summer – and an Indian Premier League stint to start early next month – but he's feeling good.
''Six-for probably helps loosen you up nicely,'' he said.
''It was just a great day, the rhythm felt very good and it was nice to see the ball moving around against a quality side that's very experienced.''
Much the same was said against an England side at Christchurch's Lancaster Park in 1984.
They were rolled for 82 and 93 in a total of 101.2 overs, as Richard Hadlee's eight for 44 pushed New Zealand to an innings and 132-run win.
Much like yesterday, where only tailender Craig Overton (33) and opener Mark Stoneman (11) got to double figures, just one English batsmen 24 years ago made to 20 over the two innings – quirky Derek Randall's second innings 25.
The mathematics show nine English batsmen combined for a barely-believable 13 runs.
And while England coach Trevor Bayliss conceded New Zealand had bowled outstandingly, he could barely believe his batsmen making repeat mistakes yesterday, falling like lemmings off a cliff.
''We made a lot of mistakes with our footwork. The ball was swinging a little bit, and when the ball is full you've got to play forward,'' he said.
''We had a lot of guys playing behind the crease to fairly full balls. Everyone was making the same types of mistakes, the feet were not moving properly, decision making was not as it normally is.''
Some hard thinking and conversation is coming up for the England batsmen before the second innings. By then, the game may be gone, depending on New Zealand's progress against the pink ball today.
The lead will be 117 at the start of play today. England have a pile of work ahead.
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