Sam Curran hails Kane Williamson wicket after England allrounder strikes late on day two

The Surrey left-armer dismissed the New Zealand captain in the final hour at Mount Maunganui to give the tourists the edge in the first Test

England's Sam Curran believes the dismissal of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is the best wicket of his career after his late intervention swung the first Test the tourists' way.

Williamson looked to be guiding the Black Caps to a position of superiority on day two after reaching his 31st half-century.

But inside the final hour of play Curran snarred the Kiwi skipper with a delivery which rose off the pitch and caught the edge, with Ben Stokes taking the catch in the slips.

It left New Zealand four wickets down and still 209 runs behind at the close, meaning England ended the day firmly in command.

"Because it's so recent, it probably is (my best wicket) said Curran, who took 2-28 and now has 21 Test scalps. "I'm sure there are other moments but off the top of my head [I can't think of any].

Mike Atherton says Sam Curran "justified his selection" with pivotal day two wickets

"He's a world-class player so it's nice to say that I've got him out, but the main thing is that we've got their best player out and now we get into the middle order.

"We're pretty pleased with the way the day ended. With a few more rolls in the morning, the wicket may start being a bit uneven.

"Fingers crossed that will suit us and it gets worse as the game goes on because, most likely, we'll be bowling last. We obviously want to be batting as soon as we can and get a big, big lead. It's going to be an exciting game."

Curran was thrown the ball after just seven overs, replacing Jofra Archer, and Joe Root's faith in the Surrey man paid dividends as he struck with the third delivery of his spell to dismiss Tom Latham.

The 21-year-old's display with the ball came after he was out for a golden duck as England collapsed to 353 all out in their first innings.

^{Sam Curran had earlier been out without scoring amid a damaging England collapse}

Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jofra Archer and Curran were all sent back to the hutch in the space of 21 balls - and the Northampton native admits he was despondent.

"There were a few players saying 'let's get up for this' because I was a bit down but I think that's just natural. I finished the day a lot happier than I was at 12.30pm!" he added.

"I just want to contribute with bat and ball - I couldn't get any runs but I can hopefully contribute with a few wickets in the first innings.

"I'm a very competitive person so I like to get in the battle even on a wicket that may not suit me or when I play against bowling that is putting me under pressure.

"If you're just going to sit back and let them do things against you, I feel I won't succeed."

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