Joe Root has admitted that batting with Harry Brook made his "life a lot easier" as he returned to form with a brilliant unbeaten 153 against New Zealand.
Root shared a mammoth partnership worth 302 runs alongside Brook, England's third-highest fourth wicket stand ever behind the 411 Peter May and Colin Cowdrey scored against the West Indies in 1957 and the 310 Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen scored against Australia in 2006.
Brook blasted a mesmerising 186 off 176 balls, his fourth century in just six Tests, while Root's hundred was his first in eight Tests, his longest run without a century in over two years.
