• Joe Root hailed another aggressive declaration, Ben Stokes.
• Black Caps had declared their first innings at 435-8.
• Stokes has spearheaded an offensive revolution that has helped England win.

Ben Stokes’ latest bold statement on Saturday was praised by Joe Root as the reason why England was in such a dominant position against New Zealand in the second Test in Wellington.

After dominating day two at the Basin Reserve, where rain forced an early conclusion after the Black Caps had declared their first innings at 435-8, the tourists are poised to sweep the series.

Red-hot The same combination of aggressive batting and effective new-ball bowling that was at the core of England’s dominating 267-run victory in the first Test at Mount Maunganui has been used this time around.

Another resemblance is Stokes’ forceful leadership, whose statement 30 minutes before lunch was praised as “excellent” by Root.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad, two of England’s greatest speed bowlers, were given two opportunities to target the hosts in favourable conditions on either side of the interval, according to the former captain Root.

According to Root, who lost his captaincy midway through last year, “where we’re playing right now, with the amount of confidence we’ve got, with the two leading wicket-takers we’ve ever had, it just looked like a really courageous and attacking decision.”

Since taking over, Stokes has spearheaded an offensive revolution that has helped England win 10 of their previous 11 Test matches.

“Ben has stepped into the role so easily. Everyone is responding to the game so well under his management, which is crucial “explained Root.

Stokes didn’t declare until Root had made it to 153 not out. The 32-year-old had easily advanced from 101 overnight, unfazed by Harry Brook’s early dismissal on Saturday for 186.

Then Anderson (3-37), the oldest player to hold the position, stepped up with the ball and unleashed a devastating opening spell that supported his elevation this week to the top spot in the world Test bowling rankings.

The stern pacer dismissed Will Young (2) after the break after removing Devon Conway (0) and Kane Williamson (4) to leave the hosts floundering at 12-2.

All three batsmen gave gloveman Ben Foakes feathery edges, bringing Anderson’s total number of Test victims caught by a wicketkeeper to 188, 36 more than any other bowler.

With three days left, New Zealand was facing a 297-run deficit after spinner Jack Leach (3-45) destroyed the middle order.

Left-handers Henry Nicholls (30) and Tom Latham (35) appeared to be mounting a rearguard attack, but both collapsed while attempting to reverse-sweep Leach, providing catches to fielders nearby.

Luke Ronchi, the batting coach for New Zealand, refrained from harshly criticizing the pair for their unusual dismissals.

Ronchi remarked, “The way cricket is now, you want to try and score.

But it’s also realizing that not every ball has to result in a goal. You can bat for extended stretches during which the bowlers will dominate the game.

There’s no reason to worry because they’ve all done it before.

Before play was suspended at 5.45 p.m. (0445 GMT), First-Test centurion Tom Blundell had reached 25 not out and his rambunctious skipper Tim Southee was undefeated on 23 — in an innings that featured two sixes.

The late rain caused the loss of about 25 overs, reflecting the early end of day one when the clouds emerged.

Yet, England still has plenty of time to work toward winning a seventh straight Test while denying New Zealand a chance to win their eighth straight match.

Earlier, England resumed at 315-3 and scored 120 runs in a fun opening session while losing five wickets.

With just two runs added to his overnight total, Brook was bowled by Matt Henry (4-100) in the third over.

He contributed to a 302-run partnership with Root, the second-highest in England’s Test history against New Zealand, that helped the visitors recover from a 21-3 deficit early in day one.

Root hit 10 fours and three sixes, including a reverse ramp shot off the fourth ball he faced on Saturday off Southee that cleared the boundary rope.

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