England captain Michael Vaughan and New Zealand counterpart Daniel Vettori starred on the fourth day of the first Test at Lord's here Sunday.

Vaughan's 106 was the cornerstone of England's 319 all out.

But left-arm spinner Vettori kept the hosts in check with five wickets for 69 runs in 22.3 overs, the 14th time he'd taken five or more wickets in an innings in 81 Tests.

And by having Vaughan hole out to James Marshall to end the innings, Vettori became only the second New Zealand cricketer, after Sir Richard Hadlee, to take 250 Test wickets.

Vettori's haul Sunday also included two wickets in two balls after impressive seamer Chris Martin had made the initial breakthrough.

New Zealand in their second innings were 40 without loss at stumps, a deficit of two runs, with the bad weather which had taken more than 150 overs out of the game not expected to disrupt Monday's final day.

Jamie How was 26 not out and fellow opener Aaron Redmond, who'd avoided a pair on his Test debut by cutting Ryan Sidebottom for four, unbeaten on 14.

Before the close Redmond, on four, survived a close lbw appeal from left-arm spinner Monty Panesar.

Vaughan, who'd dropped down from opening to No 3 in a straight swop with Andrew Strauss, hadn't scored a Test century in 15 innings since making 124 against India at Trent Bridge in July

The 33-year-old Yorkshire batsman, who'd barely averaged over 20 during England's 2-1 series win in New Zealand in March, took nearly five hours and 204 balls for his 18th Test hundred.

But his innings featured some trademark, stylish, cover-drives.

Vaughan's first century against New Zealand, achieved when he struck his 11th four, off Vettori, saw him equal former England captain Graham Gooch's record of six Test hundreds at Lord's.

England were making serene progress as Strauss (63) and fellow left-handed opener Alastair Cook (61) compiled a stand of 121, their first century partnership in 23 Test innings at the top of the order.

But after they were both out when well-set the rest of England's batsmen, Vaughan excepted, failed to offer much in the way of runs or resistance as the scoring rate slowed to under three an over.

Similar slumps had been a feature of the New Zealand series until the third Test in Napier.

England's plight would have been worse had not Redmond dropped a diving second slip catch off teenage quick Tim Southee when Vaughan was on 64.

Stuart Broad and Sidebottom showed what was possible with sound support of Vaughan in seventh-wicket and eighth-wicket stands of 61 and 48 respectively.

England resumed after lunch on 160 for three, having also lost star batsman Kevin Pietersen, lbw for three playing down the wrong line to Vettori.

Martin ended England's opening stand when, bowling from around the wicket, he had Cook edging to diving wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum.

Strauss and Cook's previous Test-best as a first-wicket pair was the 95 they shared against India in Nagpur in 2005/06.

After lunch, the intelligent Martin drew Ian Bell into playing a lifting delivery outside off-stump and McCullum, whose 97 was the centrepiece of his team's first innings 277, made no mistake.

Martin was then unfortunate not to have Vaughan lbw for 30.

Vettori took the next wickets to fall, Paul Collingwood edging to first slip Ross Taylor before, a ball later, wicket-keeper Tim Ambrose, was lbw after bizarrely not playing a shot.

Broad survived the hat-trick, the ball just beating his outside edge.

AFP

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