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England captured the vital wicket of Kane Williamson for 93 in a dramatic five-wicket final session to leave New Zealand 319-8 after day one of the first Test in Christchurch on Thursday.

The hosts went to tea at a healthy 193-3 and slumped to 252-7 before Glenn Phillips (41 not out) and Matt Henry (18) halted the collapse with a spirited 46-run stand for the eighth wicket. 

Shoaib Bashir, the only specialist spinner in the Test, was England's chief destroyer with 4-69.

It left the contest finely balanced.

"It's a good, fair surface," Williamson said. "On a surface like that you ride a bit of luck and I played and missed a bit, that's just the nature of the beast."

The 21-year-old Bashir did not expect to be bowling on day one and was surprised to find himself facing Williamson, New Zealand's greatest Test run scorer.

"Obviously he's a world class player and for me, bowling to someone like him, I was just in awe watching Kane Williamson bat," he said.

"I bowled plenty of bad balls out there but I was still kept on and that shows how much faith they (management) have in me."

Former skipper Williamson looked on track to put New Zealand into a dominant position after joining Tom Latham in the middle when they lost opener Devon Conway in the second over. 

He faced 14 deliveries before getting off the mark and went on to anchor 50-run partnerships with Latham, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell. 

Williamson was instrumental in getting them to 227-4 before he was undone attempting a cut shot that went to Zac Crawley at point to give Gus Atkinson his second wicket. 

England had started the Test with a roar, winning the toss and, bowling on a green top, having Atkinson remove Conway almost immediately.

But for the rest of the first two sessions, the composed Williamson swung the momentum back to New Zealand. 

He was unfazed when twice struck on the helmet by Brydon Carse and survived a vociferous appeal on 51 for caught behind when replays showed the ball hit the thigh-pad and not the bat. 

Williamson, who hit 10 fours, faced 197 deliveries in 274 minutes with temperatures hovering around 30 Celsius before being dismissed in the 90s for the first time in six years. 

In Williamson's previous 13 innings where he scored at least 90, the prolific batsman had gone on to register eight hundreds and five double centuries. 

With moisture in the ground causing the England bowlers some early problems with their delivery stride, Latham punished every loose ball that came along.

But he had a lapse of concentration in the first over after the morning drinks break and he was caught behind off Carse for 47.

Ravindra took on the aggressor role as he and Williamson added 68 for the third wicket before Ravindra clumsily mis-hit a loose full toss from Bashir and was gone for 34. 

Mitchell accompanied Williamson through to tea but went for 19 in the second over after play resumed.

The wickets of Williamson, Tom Blundell (17) and debutant Nathan Smith (three) quickly followed as New Zealand slumped to 252-7. 

Henry added a brisk 18, leaving Phillips and Tim Southee (10) to see out the day.

England debutant, 21-year-old Jacob Bethell, bowled one over of left-arm spin with his first Test delivery dispatched to the boundary by Williamson. 

Uncapped Durham wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson was on Thursday added to England's squad in place of the injured Jordan Cox and is expected to arrive on Saturday. 

Bethell will bat at number three with Ollie Pope taking the gloves in this Test and sliding down the order to six.