Drinks were taken after 13 of 45 overs to be bowled in the last session of the game and Otago were reeling at 44/4, having lost four wickets for four runs as Andrew Caddick ripped through the top order to take three wickets off six balls.

Otago's openers Robert Lawson and Brendon McCullum made the required bright start but it wasn't long enough and when Lawson was out, edging Andrew Caddick to Warren Hegg when he was 11, and the score 30, the pressure was on.

Unfortunately, for Otago, McCullum succumbed two balls later when James Ormond tempted McCullum to repeat a pull shot that had netted him four runs off the previous ball. He couldn't play the shot with the same ease and instead it flew high in the air from a top edge and wicket-keeper Warren Hegg made no mistake as McCullum departed for 19 off 18 balls.

Chris Gaffaney went forward to the first ball he received, from Caddick, and was hit on his front foot sufficiently in line for umpire Steve Dunne to waste no time in lifting his finger to send him on his way for a duck.

Four balls later Simon Beare didn't offer a shot at all and shouldered arms only to see the ball come back and bowl him for another duck. Four wickets had fallen in 12 balls and Caddick had three in six.

Cumming and Craig Pryor settled in to try and hold out the English attack and it was 20 balls before Cumming scored his first runs, an extra cover drive for four.

They were 147/5, a lead of 150 runs, after 34 overs of the 105 to be played if the day goes the full distance. Usman Afzaal was 29 not out and Craig White had still to score. The loss of top scorer Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Flintoff in the double wicket maiden which greeted left-arm fast-medium bowler David Sewell's return to the bowling crease through England into the danger zone when 139/5.

Trescothick had been making the most of the chance for a good long bat after a succession of low scores during the One-Day International series. But he hit a soft chance straight into the hands of point fieldsman Simon Beare to end his innings on 68, off 85 balls.

It was the first ball of Sewell's fifth over, the start of his second spell. Earlier, Trescothick had punished Sewell severely and he was taken out of the attack having conceded 36 runs off his four overs.

Then off the last ball of the over, Sewell trapped Flintoff leg before wicket without scoring.

Trescothick brought up his half century just after the drinks break with a lovely off drive for four from Craig Pryor's bowling. He took 64 balls and hit eight fours. It took him 32 balls to reach double figures, but once there he settled in and took advantage of some loose bowling, including 20 from one David Sewell over.

But no sooner had he reached that mark than he lost his partner in their 99-run stand, Mark Ramprakash for 42 off 46 balls, when he was caught in the gully by Simon Beare from Kerry Walmsley's bowling.

The stand was compiled in 73 minutes off 105 balls. With the dismissal England were 106/3.

Walmsley had three wickets for 24 runs from his nine overs, an impressive return for the big fast man who came into the game having just recovered from a back strain which kept him out of Otago's team for their last game.

Usman Afzaal joined Trescothick and quickly avoided a pair. He welcomed off-spinner Nathan Morland to the bowling crease by hitting him for six over mid-wicket in his first over.

Rain forced from the field for 10 minutes half an hour before lunch but the break didn't seem to affect Afzaal, who immediately took another six to mid-wicket from Morland to move to 21.

Sewell had two for 41 from his six overs.

They were 147/5, a lead of 150 runs, after 34 overs of the 105 to be played if the day goes the full distance. Usman Afzaal was 29 not out and Craig White had still to score. The loss of top scorer Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Flintoff in the double wicket maiden which greeted left-arm fast-medium bowler David Sewell's return to the bowling crease through England into the danger zone when 139/5.

Trescothick had been making the most of the chance for a good long bat after a succession of low scores during the One-Day International series. But he hit a soft chance straight into the hands of point fieldsman Simon Beare to end his innings on 68, off 85 balls.

It was the first ball of Sewell's fifth over, the start of his second spell. Earlier, Trescothick had punished Sewell severely and he was taken out of the attack having conceded 36 runs off his four overs.

Then off the last ball of the over, Sewell trapped Flintoff leg before wicket without scoring.

Trescothick brought up his half century just after the drinks break with a lovely off drive for four from Craig Pryor's bowling. He took 64 balls and hit eight fours. It took him 32 balls to reach double figures, but once there he settled in and took advantage of some loose bowling, including 20 from one David Sewell over.

But no sooner had he reached that mark than he lost his partner in their 99-run stand, Mark Ramprakash for 42 off 46 balls, when he was caught in the gully by Simon Beare from Kerry Walmsley's bowling.

The stand was compiled in 73 minutes off 105 balls. With the dismissal England were 106/3.

Walmsley had three wickets for 24 runs from his nine overs, an impressive return for the big fast man who came into the game having just recovered from a back strain which kept him out of Otago's team for their last game.

Usman Afzaal joined Trescothick and quickly avoided a pair. He welcomed off-spinner Nathan Morland to the bowling crease by hitting him for six over mid-wicket in his first over.

Rain forced from the field for 10 minutes half an hour before lunch but the break didn't seem to affect Afzaal, who immediately took another six to mid-wicket from Morland to move to 21.

Sewell had two for 41 from his six overs.

At the first drinks break, England were 87/2, having started batting from the outset of the day after Otago declared at their overnight score of 150/6, three runs behind England's first innings score.

Trescothick was on the verge of a half century with 48 and Ramprakash had thumped his way to 34 not out off 35 balls.

This was despite a harrowing start to the innings when Otago had immediate, if unexpected reward, when Mark Butcher attempted to pull a ball from Kerry Walmsley. The ball caught the top edge of his bat and flew high behind the slips cordon.

But Craig Pryor ran back confidently and took the ball over his shoulder to have Butcher for a duck and before England had scored a run.

Graham Thorpe joined Marcus Trescothick but in Walmsley's third over he played all over a full ball from the former New Zealand opening bowler and had his middle and off stumps knocked out of the ground. He hadn't scored and England were seven for two.

Trescothick was especially brutal on one over from former international left-arm medium-fast bowler David Sewell taking 20 runs, including five fours to all points of the compass.

Ramprakash hit out as well and hit one lovely six over the point boundary from Walmsley's bowling while Sewell also suffered with Ramprakash charging him and putting him over the mid-wicket boundary for six.

Sewell's spell lasted only four overs and cost him 36 runs while first innings destroyer Craig Pryor bowled only three overs at a cost of 28 runs.

Play started at 10am with 105 overs to be bowled. Conditions were fine, although there was a hint of rain in the surrounding environs. It did rain during the drinks break but not enough to put the covers on and play continued as usual.