Anderson's bunch of five

James Anderson has Mathew Sinclair caught behind for nine, his third wicket © Getty Images

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Watch James Anderson in the end of day press conference and the full close report on ECBtv

James Anderson justified his recall to the England side in sensational fashion as the tourists seized complete control of the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington.

Brought back into the team at the expense of Matthew Hoggard, Anderson grabbed five wickets to help bowl New Zealand out for just 198 in reply to England’s 342.

His opening spell of 3-20 in nine overs either side of lunch decimated the top order, he returned to break a 71-run stand for the fourth wicket by removing Stephen Fleming, and added the impressive Ross Taylor to his list of victims as New Zealand collapsed after tea.

Anderson finished with exceptional figures of 5-73, an immediate reward for the management’s decision to restore him to the side.

There were also three cheap wickets for Paul Collingwood, who mopped up the tail in a pulsating final session that saw the last seven Kiwi wickets tumble for 96 runs despite Daniel Vettori's rapid unbeaten 50.

England, who had added 51 to their overnight first-innings total of 291 for five earlier in the day as Tim Ambrose celebrated his maiden Test century, survived the final 20 minutes of play in reaching four without loss - extending their lead to 148.

Anderson needed just five deliveries to make his mark with the ball, accounting for Matthew Bell with a ball which rivalled Jacob Oram’s to dismiss Michael Vaughan 24 hours earlier. He drew Bell forward with a full-length delivery that swung away late to beat the defensive push and cannon into off stump.

Stuart Broad ends Brendon McCullum's brief resistance after tea © Getty Images

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Jamie How was caught at first slip driving at another delivery that left him in the air, and if any doubts remained over the merits of Anderson’s selection, he dispelled them by removing Mathew Sinclair half an hour after lunch.

Sinclair paid the price for a lack of foot movement by edging behind, but Fleming gave the home supporters something to cheer when, upon reaching 18, he became the first New Zealander to score 7,000 Test runs.

England’s position could have been stronger had Collingwood not put down two chances at second slip, a mightily difficult one-handed effort low to his left to reprieve Fleming, and a simpler catch offered by Taylor which he did not see until too late.

Though Kevin Pietersen and Monty Panesar made a hash of an opportunity to run out Fleming, England emerged after tea to reassert their dominance, with Anderson again the catalyst.

He induced a half-hearted cut from Fleming which looped to Pietersen at point, and found Taylor’s outside edge as he played back to a ball that left him off the seam.

Those wickets, which gave Anderson his fourth five-wicket haul in Tests, sandwiched the dismissal of Oram, trapped on the crease by Ryan Sidebottom as New Zealand slipped from 102 for three to 113 for six.

Brendon McCullum and Vettori’s blistering 52-run stand, which encompassed little more than five overs, averted the threat of the follow-on but caused England no more than a minor headache.

Tim Ambrose celebrates a richly deserved maiden Test hundred © Getty Images

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Stuart Broad returned to the attack to have McCullum taken by Andrew Strauss at first slip for a typically entertaining 25, and even Vettori’s manipulation of the strike could not prevent Kyle Mills, Mark Gillespie and Chris Martin in the space of 21 balls to Collingwood.

The theme of ball dominating over bat began in the morning session, when England’s last five wickets fell for just 42 runs.

Ambrose converted his overnight unbeaten 97 into a crucial 102, the first century by an England wicketkeeper on foreign soil since Alec Stewart’s 173 against the same opponents in Auckland in 1997.

However, his joy was cut short when he fell moments later, caught by Taylor at second slip as he pushed forward at Mills.

Broad was unfortunate to deflect Oram on to his stumps via the thigh pad as he attempted a leg glance, and Collingwood, who had brought up a battling 122-ball half-century in the first over of the day, was pinned on the back leg for 65 playing across the line to Gillespie.

Sidebottom miscued a pull off Gillespie, where Bell took a tumbling catch, and Panesar fended a short ball from the same bowler down the leg side to McCullum.

Gillespie finished with a somewhat flattering 4-79, while Oram - the most impressive member of New Zealand’s attack - deserves much credit for impeccable figures of 29-11-46-3.

All the home seamers, however, were put in the shade by Anderson, whose new-ball burst set the tone for an afternoon of England dominance that was only briefly challenged.