It did not take long for the harsh reality of the England captaincy to come back and bite Joe Root.
His second day as a temporary plug-and-play replacement for Ben Stokes started with a dismal first hour and never recovered. There were also shades of the Ashes as New Zealand exported to the Oval an Australian method of cutting down Root and Harry Brook.
It was an England day of misfields, a dropped catch, some tactical naivety, a sloppy run-out and no innings of real substance as New Zealand took control.
Clearly, Root cannot shoulder all the blame but he knows what goes with the job and will recognise England are in a real pickle at 222 for six, 169 behind New Zealand’s 391.
There were bright moments. Emilio Gay’s second fifty in three innings was another step forward and the 40-run stand between debutants James Rew and Jordan Cox spoke of their promise after coming in at 177 for five when Matt Henry knocked over Root and Brook in three balls.
But both Gay and Rew fell to bouncers the first time they were tested by short balls as New Zealand showed greater nous and skill with the ball than England managed.
This is a decent batting pitch and New Zealand had to be disciplined. Their attack is far more experienced than England’s and it showed as they used the bouncer sparingly but with devastating effect. They were also subtler than England as Henry winkled out Root for 46 and Brook for 24 with the keeper standing up to the stumps.
Root was a little unlucky with the decision, it was umpire’s call on impact outside off stump, and the delivery jagged back a long way, but Brook was beaten all ends up. The keeper breathing down their necks was a tactic employed by Michael Neser and Alex Carey during the Ashes because it reigned in the adventurous spirit of the Bazballers who like to dance down and dominate.
It prevents the kind of bobbing around that brought Brook a remarkable six off only his sixth ball when he shifted to the leg side, picked a length ball up from on off-stump from Will O’Rourke and deposited it for six over backward point.