England's Ollie Robinson had head-shaking figures of 4-10 from six overs at stumps, including three wickets in his first over in a Test since February 2024.
Robinson snatched the spotlight from New Zealand's Kyle Jamieson, who took 5-62 in his first Test since February 2024, too.
Robinson said: ""My legs were numb and there was a point where I couldn't hear anything. I was trying to calm myself down and focus on the moment.
"I had a lot of nerves yesterday, a lot nerves this morning, so to get out there and do that was pretty special. I still can't really put it into words."
England supporters were subdued after their side were dismissed in 39.4 overs, but Robinson brought them to life when he struck with just his third delivery then his fifth and sixth.
Devon Conway was pinned on the front pad, Kane Williamson popped up the ball to short leg, and Rachin Ravindra was trapped on his back leg.
Gus Atkinson joined the party to remove New Zealand captain Tom Latham for three at 4-12 and Robinson returned to knock over Daryl Mitchell's off stump.
Tom Blundell's off stump was also smashed, conceding the sixth wicket to Josh Tongue. Glenn Phillips was leading the counter-attack in the evening with 31 not out at stumps.
Yet most of the day belonged to New Zealand. Latham won the toss and unleashed his full-strength pace attack with Jamieson bowling alongside Will O'Rourke for the first time after back injuries.
But a two-hour rain delay through lunch and a one-hour delay for bad light and rain through tea helped Jamieson, O'Rourke and fourth seamer Nathan Smith recuperate and rout England.
Emilio Gay on debut was the only wicket to fall in the 10 overs allowed in the morning when he nicked Jamieson to first slip. After lunch, England collapsed from 1-31 to 4-34. Smith struck Ben Duckett plumb on the back leg and O'Rourke removed Jacob Bethell and Joe Root.
Jamie Smith shouldered arms to a come-backer by Jamieson and had his off stump smashed and Brook finally found a partner in captain Ben Stokes on his 35th birthday. But just as their partnership was starting to flourish, Stokes fell to a magnificent one-handed catch by Williamson.
The wickets continued to tumble, Jamieson ending with five, Smith three and O'Rourke two, but the good vibes they produced were long gone by the end of the day.
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