Joe Root and Dawid Malan are at the crease and New Zealand are ready in the field.

Trent Boult to Malan first up. Here we go...

England batting coach Graham Thorpe, speaking to TMS: "James Vince is technically a much stronger player than he was last year. I see him working in the nets on things like rotating the strike.

"Sometimes you do have to give players a little bit longer to develop their game. He's eye-catching and he works very hard off the field. Sometimes we have to hold our patience with players."

Jonathan Agnew
BBC cricket correspondent on Test Match Special

We were talking on the way here about the national selector's job. The first job is that they're going to have to look at Stoneman and Vince - they'll have some idea about them already - when they pick the team for the summer, as those two places will be up for discussion.

England really need a win here to salvage something from a brutal winter.

Thoughts are already turning to the summer as well though...

Vic Marks
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

It's imperative that England bowl before tea, and have that little session before tea so that New Zealand would have to bat for more than four sessions.

But it's possible that the second new ball will whip through England and bowl them out - that wouldn't be a disaster for them.

Dave Wood: Bat until tea & then four sessions to bowl NZ out. Simples.

More from England all-rounder Ben Stokes on TMS: "I had time out in the crease in the first innings, which was pleasing - I wanted to be there at the end, but it was good to see I had the patience to stay in there.

"We're in a great position here - they need a draw to win the series so we need to put a foot on their throats. All the wickets have come from the opening bowlers so the more time we can have our batsmen facing that second new ball rather than the lower order, the better."

Graeme Swann
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

It's a long tail with Stuart Broad at eight - Mark Wood did well in the first innings but I wouldn't be backing him to do it against the new ball. The word in the dressing-room will be to play normally for the first hour, and reassess.

Jonathan Agnew
BBC cricket correspondent on Test Match Special

That new ball will come at quite an interesting time for New Zealand - there are 14 overs left with the old ball. And it feels like a bowling morning as there's cloud around.

When will England be bowling today? Can New Zealand apply some pressure by getting early wickets?

All thoughts, predictions and random musings welcome.

Tweet us using #bbccricket or text 81111.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes on TMS, explaining why he's been working with bowling coach Chris Silverwood: "I'm working on alignment, trying to get things a bit straighter. When I was looking at my pace, I was bowling just as fast as I normally do - it proves to me I don't need to over-try, which is something I've done before now. It's been frustrating - I had a few injections in Auckland, but it's getting slowly better day to day. Hopefully in a week or two's time it will be good as gold."

Graeme Swann
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

There's still a bit of grass on the pitch. One or two of the England bowlers told me they thought it wouldn't turn out there - but I told them it would if they bowl straight, and to the right fields.

Vic Marks
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

England would like to declare but I suspect that their best chance of victory might actually be if they are bowled out because that takes the draw out of the equation.

They might need extra time to bowl New Zealand out but they won't be thinking like that in the dressing room.

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Hello and welcome to live coverage of day four of the second Test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

I say England are set up for a first Test win on the tour, but New Zealand are not out of this one yet by any means.

Spark a collapse this morning and the Kiwis may well feel they can chase down over 300 on a pitch that looked very good for batting on yesterday.

The hosts still have 14 overs until the new ball though and will have to remove Joe Root (30 not out) and Dawid Malan (19 not out) early on.

Day three is known as 'moving day' in Test cricket and yesterday this match moved firmly in England's direction.

James Vince and Mark Stoneman put on a vital stand of 123 to help the tourists reach 202-3 at the close, a lead of 231.

Neither hit a maiden Test century, both falling short in horridly familiar ways and it remains to be seen whether either will be back in the summer.

But for now, their efforts may have set up England for their first Test victory of this gruelling winter.