Head coach Trevor Bayliss slammed England’s 58 all out collapse in Auckland as “embarrassing” and “not good enough” as New Zealand racked up a 117 run lead at Eden Park.

Trent Boult’s 6-32 and an unbeaten 91 from Kane Williamson has put New Zealand, who were 175-2 at stumps on day one, in an almost unassailable position going into day two of the test.

England collapsed to 27-9 in the first hour, orchestrated by a devastating display of swing bowling from Trent Boult, and only a fighting knock of 33* from Craig Overton saved England from being bowled out for a record low score.

England’s openers initially looked untroubled by the new ball until Boult went wide of the crease and delivered a near unplayable delivery, full and swinging away from Alastair Cook, who could only edge to second slip as he fended at it. 6-1.

In came Joe Root, the captain batting at number 3 as James Vince was discarded. Off went Joe Root six balls later as Boult demolished his off stump with a perfect inswinging delivery- though Root may have felt he could have played it better, seemingly hesitant to get forward to it. 6-2.

In came Dawid Malan, one of England’s few bright sparks in Australia. Off went Dawid Malan four balls later as he could only nick another perfect delivery from Boult to Watling behind the stumps- full on off stump with just enough swing to take the edge. 16-3.

In came Ben Stokes, who hadn’t played any long-form cricket since September but has starred in the preceeding one day series. Off went Ben Stokes eight balls later as Boult set him up perfectly with several outswingers before one held its line and nipped back to smack the top of off. Stokes had been trying to combat the swing by walking down the pitch but he was up against a top class bowler in once in a lifetime form. 18-5.

As England capitulated at one end, and before Stokes was bowled, Mark Stoneman had looked relatively comfortable at the other as he pulled and nudged his way to double figures. But then Tim Southee, thus far not quite hitting the right length, pitched up one up and across him, and Stoneman fended at one he could have left. This left England 18-4 and the game was lost in the first hour.

Johnny Bairstow, another who starred in the ODIs, sent the fourth ball he faced straight back to Southee trying to drive through the off side. Chris Woakes, so impressive for England in all formats recently, was bowled by Boult in almost a carbon copy of the Root dismissal. Moeen Ali, whose form with bat and ball has fallen off a cliff since crossing the equator in November, was undone by a slowish full toss from Southee.

Between them England’s middle order had contributed seven runs, and three ducks. When Stuart Broad sliced a fullish delivery from Southee to point, where Kane Williamson took an outstanding catch, England were 27-9 and had only just about escaped the ignominy of recording the lowest ever score in the first innings of a test match.

Finishing on 58 thanks to a, in the circumstances, impressive counter attack from Craig Overton, England were left face in the dirt with Williamson resting his boot on the proverbial head, ready to grind it into the ground as he made his way to a century-to-be with supreme control.

England’s only saviour now may be the weather, with rain expected on all four remaining days. But that won’t hide how brutally England’s batting frailties were exposed in the most English of conditions. No grit, no footwork, no clue. Symptomatic of a head coach that cares less and less for the test team with each passing day, and woefully inadequate preparation against the pink ball. With each dismissal you got the sense that England not only had no idea how to play the swinging ball but also had completely forgotten the fundamentals of test match batting.

This is an unfortunate by-product of prioritising the shorter forms of the game but it is inexcusable. Yes the bowling was good, great even, at times unplayable, but the batting was incredibly generous to New Zealand and reeked of ill-discipline and loose techniques. Joe Root, probably the finest current batsman against the swinging ball, was undone by his own desire to score quickly, something that has plagued him at times recently.

Now looking forward for England it is not about saving the test, or saving the series. It’s about saving the English test team from further, perhaps terminable, decline and stopping a rot that has set in since the successful tour of South Africa. Trevor Bayliss, whose work with the white ball team is probably quite a bit overrated, has created a culture where “expressing yourself” and “playing your natural game” is more important than being disciplined with the ball and difficult to dismiss with the bat, and in test cricket that is not good enough. For England, Bayliss is not good enough.