Harry Brook's seventh Test hundred and Ollie Pope's timely 77 rescued England after a top-order collapse as the tourists cut a wasteful New Zealand's lead to 29 on day two of the first Test.
England were reeling on 71-4, at which point they trailed by 277, as ducks for Zak Crawley and Joe Root sandwiched Jacob Bethell (10 off 34) snicking behind on a tough debut from an unfamiliar No 3 spot and Ben Duckett (46) caught on the hook in Christchurch.
However, Brook (132no) and Pope rode their luck to share a fifth-wicket stand of 151 - Brook was dropped on 18, 41 and 72 and then again on 106 while adding an unbroken 97 with captain Ben Stokes (37no) - as England closed on 319-5 in reply to New Zealand's 348.
Stokes was also the beneficiary of a drop as New Zealand skipper Tom Latham shelled his third catch of the day - and the team's sixth - at short cover close to stumps, reprieving the left-hander on 30.
Brook - who became the second-fastest Englishman to 2,000 Test runs in terms of innings (36), behind only Herbert Sutcliffe (33) - was shelled by Glenn Phillips at gully, Latham at first slip and Devon Conway at deep midwicket before reaching his hundred from 123 balls, shortly after a superb scooped four.
Pope, pushed down the order to No 6 due to him also keeping wicket in this Test, was his usual skittish self at times but managed to peel off a much-needed score after averaging a paltry 11 with a best of 29 while batting at No 3 during October's 2-1 series defeat in Pakistan.
The vice-captain, finally out to a screamer of a one-handed catch from Phillips at gully, could return to first drop for the second Test at Wellington's Basin Reserve from December 6 with wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson to replace the injured Jordan Cox in the squad.
However, England may now be reluctant to move Pope back up after this knock of note - during which he passed 3,000 Test runs - perhaps reopening the age-old debate of who should bat at No 3.
There will be no shifting Brook from No 5, with the Yorkshireman now averaging a shade over 60 in 22 Tests - and over 90 away from home - after New Zealand wicketkeeper Tom Blundell grassed him late in the evening shortly after he had reached three figures.
Brook, who latched on to a number of wide deliveries from the Black Caps bowlers at Hagley Oval, looked to the skies after completing his ton, in tribute to his late grandmother.
New Zealand added 29 runs to their overnight 319-8 as England seamer Brydon Carse (4-64) continued the promising start to his Test career that began in Pakistan by taking the final two wickets, bouncing out Tim Southee (15) and bowling Will O'Rourke (0).
Carse, who looks like he could be a real threat in next winter's Ashes series, also struck Phillips on the grille and had him dropped on 42 by Root at slip as he significantly outbowled Chris Woakes (0-70).
Southee, in his final series before retirement, began the England innings with a pinpoint maiden to Crawley and the latter went on to be trapped lbw by Matt Henry for a 12-ball duck in the fourth over.
That brought Bethell to the crease, with the 21-year-old batting at No 3 for the first time his first-class career having been handed that spot despite a red-ball average of 25.44 and no centuries.
The left-hander took 13 balls to get off the mark and was stuck on one after 26 before he struck two boundaries in three balls off fellow debutant Nathan Smith, through midwicket and past gully.
Smith (2-86) exacted revenge in his two-wicket next over, finding the edge of Bethell's bat with a jaffa.
He then forced Root to chop on for nought on the stroke of lunch as the batter's first knock in his landmark 150th Test came to a premature end after just four deliveries, two of them no-balls - it was Root's first duck in 40 Test innings, stretching back to December 2022 in Pakistan when he was nicked off by Nauman Ali.
Duckett, dropped on 23 by Latham off Henry, was the fourth England player out, top-edging London-born New Zealand seamer O'Rourke to Conway at deep backward square in the second session.
England could have wilted from that point and may have done had New Zealand's fielding been up to scratch but Brook, and latterly Stokes, profited from the hosts' constant sloppiness.
Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain:
"New Zealand have been clumsy in this game. They gave away cheap wickets on day one and dropped six catches on day two, which is very unlike them. But it is always close between these sides and it should be a cracking series.
"Michael Atherton always describes Test cricket as an arm wrestle and we have seen that over these two days. New Zealand were up and England have fought back.
"New Zealand need to win this series 3-0 to stay in the fight for the World Test Championship final, so they need to play positive cricket and England always play positive cricket, we know that."
All-rounder Nathan Smith (2-86):
"We created enough out there. A couple of catches going to hand and it is a completely different story. England got a couple of good partnerships but we just need to break them with the new ball.
"I thought we bowled pretty well for periods but England batted well to get themselves into this position. The bounce is there and when the ball is a bit newer, there is some nice seam movement as well.
"I sort of blacked out there a little bit but it was nice [to dismiss] Root. He's obviously a quality player, so it was good to get him early."
England batter Ollie Pope, after his knock of 77 from No 6:
"I want to keep trying to make No 3 mine. I've had too many low scores there but I've also managed to put together some good knocks this year. It's definitely a job I want to keep doing.
"Pakistan wasn't an easy tour and I wasn't good enough to find a way. For me, it was really important to draw a line under it. I knew if I could get in the right headspace I could start this series strongly.
"Fortunately, I've done that and hopefully I can kick on and score a lot more runs in this series."
