Alastai Cook gets forward and pushes for a single on the off side. Brendon McCullum again throwing himself to the ground to stop runs. There has been no holding back in the field by the New Zealand skipper today. Great stuff.

Tim Southee just changing the angle as he comes round the wicket to Lyth. The tourists just struggling to build up any momentum with the ball at the moment.

Lyth clips it through midwicket. the ball slows up in the deep and it won’t go all the way. they will come back fro three though. Lyth moves into the 40s.

Adam Lyth retains the strike with a single off the last ball of the over. Cook having to bide his time to close in on this record.

Ooh, a beaut from Trent Boult pitches on middle and off and swings away past Lyth’s outside edge. He did well to avoid making contact with the bat there.

Maiden over from Boult.

Adam Lyth cuts nicely again down towards third man. Thre New Zealand fielders are after it and Mark Craig wins the chase as Lyth and Cook run three.

Banged in short to Cook by Tim Southee. The England captain times the pull well but it will be cut out by the man in the deep for just a single. Cook moves on to 28, just three short of Graham Gooch’s record of 8,900.

Lyth pulls off his legs. There are cries of ‘catch it’ but it falls comfortably safe for a single.

Trent Boult continues to Alastair Cook. The England captain is yet to add to his score since the interval.

Boult doing a good job of making Cook play. He just defends though and it’s a maiden over.

We have the Wizard of Oz characters in the ground today.

And it will be Tim Southee at the other end. Adam Lyth back on strike and punches straight down the ground. Brendon McCullum is on the chase and dives to save two at the boundary.

Incredible swing and dip as it misses the inside edge as Lyth plays outside off stump. Luke Ronchi flys to his right and takes it low, one handed to his right.

Trent Boult will kick this session off to Adam Lyth, who is more than half way to his first Test half century.

The Yorkshire batsman blocks the first delivery after lunch before cutting beautifully to the boundary. Waited patiently and just chops the ball away for four.

Lyth picks up a single on the leg side to move on to 32. Five off the over.

The players have refuelled, as have I, and we are ready to begin the afternoon session here at Headingley. England resume on 54-0 and Alastair Cook and Adam Lyth will be fairly happy with what went before lunch.

PAUL NEWMAN: So are we about to witness a bit of English cricketing history? Alastair Cook needs five more runs after lunch to overtake his mentor Graham Gooch and become the leading runscorer in England’s Test history.

It would be a very proud moment for a man who has been through a lot over the last 18 months and had to endure some vitriolic and personal abuse from the noisy minority who have for some reason taken against him. The majority of England cricket supporters, I think, recognise Cook as a thoroughly decent man and high-class batsman who will deserve his big moment.

Essex men, like Lancastrians, are not usually overly popular at Headingley going back to when Yorkshire’s Phil Sharpe was dropped by England in favour of Essex’s Keith Fletcher. But i reckon this crowd will rise to Cook as they rose to Jimmy Anderson when he took his 400th Test wicket yesterday. They appreciate the game here, even if many of them in the Western terrace are wearing very silly fancy dress…

And we will have an over of spin from Mark Craig before the players depart for lunch. Alastair Cook gets forward and drives through extra cover for a single.

Adam Lyth plays a similar shot that heeds another single prompting Brendon McCullum to just bring the man in from the boundary to save the single.

And that will be lunch. A steady session by England’s opening pair.

Tim Southee to bowl what will probably be the penultimate over of the session. A single for Adam Lyth square on the leg side puts Alastair Cook back on strike.

Southee bangs one in short and Cook pulls it away but it will be cut off behind square on the boundary for just a single.

Lyth carefully pushes one behind point. Four New Zealand fielder are chasing it to the rope but none of them will stop it.

Matt Henry, like Tim Southee, bringing it back into Alastair Cook. One that is too straight is eased away through the leg side and only an excellent piece of fielding on the boundary stops it from going for four.

Three more to Cook, who is now seven away from overtaking Graham Gooch as England’s leading Test run-taker.

Quick single for Adam Lyth to end the over. Good call for the run as Cook looked hesitant for a moment.

Tim Southee getting it to come back in to Adam Lyth. This is good bowling by Southee, not giving Lyth the opportunity to leave anything.

There are cries of ‘catch it’ from the field as Lyth hits on the leg side. It is aitborne for a moment but doesn’t carry to the man at midwicket.

Lyth follows it up with a gentle tickle that runs away for four very fine on the leg side. wonderful little shot.

England scoring at slightly over two an over. A bit of a lull after the breathless batting we were treated to by New Zealand.

But Alastair Cook pulls a short ball from Matt Henry. Controls it nicely and it will be cut off just for a couple. And again Cook goes on the attack. This time he pulls it behind square with more force and this one will race to the boundary.

Ooh close. A full straight delivery by Henry and Cook edges but it falls half a yard short of third slip. That is a better line and length to be bowling on this wicket.

Trent Boult will be given a rest after his seven overs in that opening spell as Tim Southee returns to the attack. 

Southee jags a straight one into Alastair Cook, who seems to take it in the sensitive region. The England captain is OK though.

Cook with a defensive block and he wants the quick single. He has to hurry but in comfortably in the end. Good running. Just the one from the over again.

Here comes Matt Henry again. Alastair Cook retains the strike and he punches towards mid off and Brendon McCullum, not for the first time, scampers across to save the boundary as Cook runs one.

Just the one off the over as England continue to trickle along nicely.

England will want to see this through to lunch today, 25 minutes left in the session. Alastair Cook very happy to leave it alone unless it’s on the stumps.

Cook pushes between the gap on the off side for a single, the only run off the over.

Adam Lyth waits and rocks back on to his back foot and chops Matt Henry for four down to third man. Beautiful shot by Lyth.

Lyth bends the knee and drives through the off side. He timed it well but picks out the man at cover before Boult serves up a yorker and Lyth digs it out well.

Trent Boult will continue for the tourists. Alastair Cook forces Boult into a straight delivery and he tickles it off his pads to the boundary.

One sneaks through to Luke Ronchi. The slips are very excited but the wicket keeper wasn’t appealing. there was a noise but it is the noise of ball on thigh pad not bat. It was a beautiful delivery by Boult.

Another appeal. This time for LBW but it takes a thin inside edge before making contact with the pads. It’s the first time Cook has looked a little vulnerable.

And that will herald the first bowling change of the innings. Matt Henry comes into the attack to replace Tim Southee.

Great start from Henry as he gets Lyth hanging a bat as the balls zips across the England opener. Bit of excitement in the slip cordon.

Lyth driving at a wide one but it whistles past. He’ll be annoyed swinging at one so wide when he has left well in this session.

A Maiden to start with from Henry.

Trent Boult with ball in hand again. Lyth just slowed up a little bit and happily lets the five balls go through. Boult just changing the angle by coming in wider on the crease but Lyth no interested.

Lyth works a single on the leg side and will keep the strike.

It’s been a slow and steady start here by England. Adam Lyth’s drive that missed the edge in that last over is about as close New Zealand have come to a wicket.

Alastair Cook again on strike and shows no interest in going after the wider balls. Leave is his default shot at the moment. He faced 30 balls this morning and only scored off three of them.

Maiden over for Tim Southee.

Trent Boult runs in once more. Lyth leaving the first three deliveries outside off stump before Boult sngles on down the leg side and Ronchi scampers across to collect.

A gentle push by Lyth is perfectly timed and it runs away for four. Came so quickly off the bat. Lyth drives at Boult and there is late swing and it whistles past the outside edge. Close.

Tim Southee misjudges one and Alastair Cook has to defend a waist high full toss from the New Zealand seamer. Just let it slip out of his hand a bit early. No sign of Cook wanting to go after it though.

Plenty of swing for Southee. Cook leaves one out side off but Lue Ronchi takes it at about leg stump.

Exquisite cover drive by Cook races away for four. Brendn McCullum gives a good chase but can’t quite save it as he tumbles over the rope and into the hoardings. Typical from the new Zealand skipper.

Trent Boult continues and Lyth flicks a straight delivery off his pads for a single down towards fine leg.

A rendition of the national anthem can be heard from the crowd as the camera cuts to gentleman dressed as the queen. plenty in fancy dress around Headingley today.

Cook works a single on the off side. Two from the over. Careful start by England.

Adam Lyth on the other hand is playing his shots. A straight drive looks to be heading towards the rope but Brendon McCullum shuffles across from the mid off to make a nimble save down to his left. Just a single from it.

Alastair Cook back on strike and happily lets it go again. Just the one off the over by Tim Southee.

Alastair Cook not interested in playing anything wide of off stump. Trent Boult brings in a bit of protection on the leg side, an indication that he will bowl a bit straighter to the England skipper.

Maiden over by Boult. Cook in no hurry here.

It will be Tim Southee with the ball at the other end. Adam Lyth stepping forward with a nice cover drive. Doesn’t time it perfectly and it will just be a couple.

Positive stuff from Lyth here and he punches into the covers for two more. Four off the over.

Adam Lythe off the mark straight away as he prods one to the off side for a quick single. Captain Alastair Cook takes the strike.

Plenty of movement from the New Zealand left arm seamer, pitching it on or just outside off stump and shaping it away. Cook sensibly leaves three deliveries alone forcing Boult to bowl a bit straighter and Cook flashes it off his pads for four.

Alastair Cook and Adam Lyth make their way out to the crease. They will want to get off to a good start here. Cook of course chasing Graham Gooch’s runs record, while Lyth will be keen to post a decent score after falling cheaply twice at Lord’s.

Trent Boult to open the bowling for the tourists.

PAUL NEWMAN: Well that’s another productive little session for New Zealand finally brought to an end by Stuart Broad who now has the most uneconomical five wicket haul in Test history, going at more than six an over!

It just about sums up the innings really. That’s a decent total for New Zealand but it is one that England should more than match. All eyes now on Alastair Cook who stands just 31 runs short of Graham Gooch’s record as the leading runscorer in English Test history.

Alastair Cook sticks with Stuart Broad. And that is that. Trent Boult goes on the attack again but top edges a hook shot. It goes high in the air but Adam Lyth takes the catch comfortably. Not the best start to the day for England. Broad takes his fifth wicket of the innings, but he went for more than six an over.

Ben Stokes will continue. He’s coming round the wicket to left-hander Mark Craig. Switches it up now as he goes back over the wicket.

Stokes kicks the ground in frustration as Craig rocks back and hit him through the covers for four. There had been no runs off the over before that. That’s 53 runs this morning.

It’s four more as Mark Craig clubs Stuart Broad through the on side. Adam Lyth out on the boundary doesn’t pick it and after a bit of feet shuffling realises the ball is crossing the boundary. England rattled.

Oh, a beautiful shot by Tent Boult. He deliberately just helps one over his own head. There is a third man in but he won’t stop that. That wasn’t a No 11 batsman shot. Quite beautiful.

Mark Craig smashes Ben Stokes straight back over the bowlers head for six. New Zealand’s tail absolutely motoring at the moment and building a very healthy target. Not what England needed this morning.

A huge swing and a miss by Trent Boult and the ball whistles over the stumps. New Zealand scoring at eight an over this morning. 40 runs off of five overs in just over 20 minutes. Incredible stuff.

So, that’s 20 runs on the board this morning off just three overs. New Zealand continuing as they left off yesterday.

Another four as Mark Craig slices one down towards the third man area. It wasn’t what he intended but he won’t be concerned one jot.

A single gets Trent Boult back on strike and the field is set for a short delivery. Short leg in. But Trent anticipates it and clobbers Stuart Broad for four with a straight pull shot. A wry smile from Broad but it won’t do his figures any good.

Three more as Joe Root saves one with a brilliant chase to the clover boundary.

And in comes New Zealand’s No 11 Trent Boult. Ben Stokes continues as Mark Craig gets the strike after Broad’s wicket off the final ball of the over.

Craig flicks Stokes for two on the leg side. England will want to get Boult on strike and get this over quickly without too many more runs on the board.

Craig punches to mid off and runs a single. Stokes will have a crack at Boult. Two balls left in the over. Straight, full delivery is well blocked by Boult.

And it’s a boundary. Boult gives himself room out side leg stump and clubs Stokes through the covers. Not terribly pretty, but hugely effective.

Stuart Broad will partner Ben Stokes at the other end. He took three wickets yesterday but was England’s most expensive bowler. He comes round the wicket to right-hander Matt Henry.

Bangs it in short and Henry swerves out the way, but he can’t avoid the next one as it hits him in the chest. Henry didn’t look comfortable at all there.

Wow! What a hit. Henry creams Broad for six with a crushing pull shot. But he’s gone the very next ball. he goes for another big hook but nicks it through to Jos Buttler, who takes the catch high. The plan to bowl short has worked. It cost a few runs but Henry Falls.

And it will be Ben Stokes to open to open the bowling this morning. Matt Henry pats the first delivery down and it bounces down a little too close to his stumps for comfort but trickles harmlessly through.

First runs of the day as Henry flicks a full ball away on the leg side for two. And it’s followed by a boundary as Henry pulls on the leg side. More runs, in a rather bizarre fashion. Henry again pulls Stokes but it gets a top edge and cannons into his own grill and shoots towards the boundary and they run one.

Seven off the over.

The Headingley bell rings and the England players make their way on to the pitch led out by captain Alastair Cook. Mark Craig and Matt Henry follow closely behind to take their place at the crease.

Jimmy Anderson is talking on Sky Sports about the pride of taking 400 Test wickets. Anderson joins the likes of Curtley Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Glenn McGrath and Wasim Akram on an elite list of seam bowlers to achieve the feat.

Just take a look at the New Zealand strike rate when the ball was pitched to full and too short. The length for England will be key again today.

Read the thoughts of Sportsmail columnist David Lloyd after the first day of the second Test.

PAUL NEWMAN: Good morning from Headingley where we are still trying to come to terms with yesterday’s giddy entertainment. What a day it was, even if it was reduced to 65 overs by the weather. Okay, New Zealand are 1-0 down in a two-Test series and had to try to make things happen but I don’t think their approach would have been any different even if they had won at Lord’s.

This is the way Brendon McCullum wants to do it and I think he more than anyone is going to transform and shape modern Test cricket to keep it in line with the advances we have seen in 50-over cricket. The modern world demands fast, vibrant cricket and that is what new Zealand more than anyone, even Australia, provide.

The exciting thing from an English point of view is that England want to do it too, albeit possibly not quote as gung-ho as the Kiwis. Now I’m a traditionalist and I don’t want every Test turning into an extended Twenty20. There will surely be times when a match has to be set up first before it proceeds to all-out attack. And then we will have more classics like the first Test at Lord’s.

For now this is the brand of cricket that will bring young people to Test matches, as we saw on the last day at Lord’s and as we have seen with the rush of late ticket sales for this match.

Back to this game, England must take the last two New Zealand wickets quickly this morning. They felt they should have bowled New Zealand out for 250 yesterday and will not want them to get much more than 300. This could be a decent total for the visitors and, as ever at Headingley, overhead conditions may dictate how hard it is to bat today. It was a glorious morning in Leeds at around 5am today but it is more cloudy now and it might not be the perfect day for batting it seemed. We will see.

PAUL NEWMAN: The challenge after the classic first Test at Lord’s was for cricket to carry on entertaining and neither England nor New Zealand disappointed during a frantic and highly eventful first day at Headingley.

This was Test cricket in fast forward, New Zealand relentless in their determination to attack and refusing to rein themselves in, even after losing two early wickets and then two more straight after tea.

Twenty20 anyone? Well, the short form will not be necessary for thrills and spills if every captain follows the example of Brendon McCullum and every rival to him responds as Alastair Cook has done so far in this Investec series.

READ PAUL NEWMAN’S FULL REPORT FROM THE FIRST DAY

Yesterday morning Headingley was plunged into darkness with a gathering of black clouds. Today the home of Yorkshire cricket is looking resplendent in the sunshine.

A very good morning to you and welcome along to Sportsmail’s live coverage from day two of the second Investec Test between England and New Zealand at Headingley.

After a lengthy delay due to the wholly unreliable British weather, we had a thrilling day of Test cricket yesterday. Play didn’t get under way until the afternoon session and we were limited to just 65 overs instead of the customary 90.

But what a 65 overs it was. We saw eight England wickets and 297 runs during a swashbuckling day that was more akin to limited overs cricket. The Kiwis toiled on 2-2 after Jimmy Anderson joined an exclusive group of bowlers to take 400 Test wickets before debutant Luke Ronchi smashes 88 runs off just 70 balls.

Make sure you stay with us throughout the day to keep up to date with all the latest from Headingley.