Same problems for England as Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood make up for batting collapse in second Test

England 290-8: Bairstow's unbeaten 97 helped drag England from a dismal 165-7 to a respectable score at the end of day one but Joe Root's side still have plenty to do to snap their winless run

Jonny Bairstow will return to the crease on day two on 97 after bringing England back from the brink (Getty)

Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood combined with the bat to revive England’s hopes on the first day of this final Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.

The tourists had shuffled the pack in terms of selection, Wood one of three changes from the team defeated in the series opener in Auckland, but they looked as far away as ever from recording a long-overdue overseas Test win when they suffered another top-order batting collapse that left them on 165 for seven in the final session.

Bairstow scored a brilliant hundred here during the recent ODI series, and he is the sole frontline batsman who can look himself in the mirror after his composed unbeaten 97 helped get England’s first-innings total up to 290 for eight by the close.

He was given some much-needed assistance from the unlikely figure of Wood, the recalled Durham fast bowler who was playing his first Test since July posting a maiden half-century in this format during a 95-run eighth-wicket stand that gave England hope that perhaps they can break a 12-Test winless run away from home here.

Bairstow said: “It didn’t go to script for the first half of the day but the fightback and the determination in the back end was something we can really build on.

“Mark Wood’s cameo - what a character, it’s always fun batting with him and he played some magnificent shots.

“He wants to impress because he’s back in the side and once things go right your adrenaline gets up and it can tip you over the edge. It was just a case of keeping him going ball by ball.”

Bairstow salvaged what was turning into a dismal innings (Getty)

The late batting rally will at least give England’s bowlers something to work with when New Zealand bat, Wood eventually out for 52 as he became Tim Southee’s fifth wicket of the day before debutant Jack Leach added another 31 runs with Bairstow before the close.

Bairstow, three runs short of his fifth Test hundred, added: “Naturally I wanted to get to the century but I’m in a position to come back tomorrow and Leach showed he can hold up an end so who knows how many we could make.

“It’s difficult to rate our score until we’ve bowled on this pitch. The skills we’ve got will hopefully suit this pitch, it’s a bit more English in style, with some lateral movement.”

Tim Southee took five wickets on the first day for just 60 runs (Getty)

But after England’s humiliation of being dismissed for 58 last week during the first Test in Auckland, failures on day one here for Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, captain Joe Root, Dawid Malan and Ben Stokes felt depressingly familiar.

The fact they were all upstaged by Wood said it all.

England’s call to respond to their Eden Park defeat by dropping Moeen Ali, Craig Overton and Chris Woakes was not a particularly surprising one. The inclusions of Wood and Somerset spinner Leach were also merited.

But the decision to recall Vince after he had been dropped for the first Test felt about as pointless as putting up a windbreak to protect your house from a cyclone.

Mark Wood scored a half-century in his return to the Test side (Getty)

Vince at least wasn’t out edging behind this time, the Hampshire batsman mixing things up by getting trapped lbw by Southee.

He scored 18 in his 59 minutes at the crease and perhaps has one more chance to save his Test career in the second innings here.

Cook is also entering dangerous territory despite the fact he is his country’s all-time leading runscorer and made a double hundred three Tests ago. The opener has looked so leaden footed and indecisive in this series, those weaknesses surfacing again as he was bowled for two by Trent Boult to follow his scores of two and five in Auckland.

Alastair Cook's lack of form is a real concern for England (Getty)

Unlike that match, England did well to hold firm in the remainder of the first session after they had been reduced to 25 for two following Vince’s dismissal, Root and Stoneman taking the tourists to lunch on 70 for two.

But a collapse early in the afternoon session that saw the loss of three wickets for one run in nine balls saw them to slump to 94 for five.

Root was the first to go, bowled by Southee following a loose drive. Malan followed, trapped lbw by Boult before Stoneman fell for 35, edging Southee behind after being trapped in his crease. The opener at least grafted, spending 111 balls at the crease. But is he really good enough to succeed at Test level?

Bairstow and Stokes had memorably shared a 399-run stand in Cape Town two years ago and, with England in such dire straits, you felt they needed to produce something special again here.

Jack Leach combined with Bairstow to see England through to the close (Getty)

The sixth-wicket pair at least stopped the rot, adding 57 before Stokes, on 25, feathered Boult behind down the legside.

England’s changes saw Stuart Broad come in at No8, the highest he has batted for 78 matches. He may have a Test century but he is no longer reliable with the bat and so it was no surprise he lasted six balls before he chipped Southee tamely to mid-off.

That brought Bairstow and Wood to the crease, prompting an upturn in their team’s fortunes.

The significance of their partnership will depend on how England’s bowlers do on day two. But from where they were, Root’s team will still be hopeful they can end a nightmare winter on a high.