Williamson eyes ton as New Zealand take control against England
The New Zealand talisman anchored a recovery after the hosts lost a wicket in the second over. At the break, Daryl Mitchell was alongside him on 16.
New Zealand put on 89 between lunch and tea with Rachin Ravindra the only wicket to fall when he, like Devon Conway and Tom Latham before lunch, engineered his own dismissal.
He lashed at a full toss from Shoaib Bashir only to lob the ball straight to Zac Crawley at mid-wicket.
It ended a sparkling innings by the young batsman whose 34 came off 49 deliveries in a 68-run stand with Williamson.
Williamson was his usual composed self, taking 14 balls before getting off the mark after Conway departed in the second over, caught and bowled by Gus Atkinson when he mis-hit an attempted drive.
England thought they had Williamson on 51 but lost a review when they appealed for a catch, with replays showing the ball hit the thigh-pad and not the bat.
In the last over before lunch England did not appeal when Ravindra played at a ball from Ben Stokes that went to the keeper and replays highlighted a faint edge.
England captain Stokes was quick to opt to bowl when he won the toss but the green wicket did not deliver the expected support for his seamers and the New Zealand batsmen put away any loose deliveries.
Latham advanced rapidly to 47 off 54 balls until a lapse of concentration after the morning drinks break saw him caught behind by stand-in wicketkeeper Ollie Pope off Brydon Carse.
Both sides feature debutants in their line-up with 21-year-old Jacob Bethell thrust into the number three position for England and New Zealand introducing seaming all-rounder Nathan Smith, 26.
Bethell bowled one over of left-arm spin before tea, with his first Test delivery dispatched to the boundary by Williamson.
Uncapped Durham wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson, 25, was on Thursday added to England's squad in place of the injured Jordan Cox and is expected to arrive on Saturday.
Cox fractured his right thumb during a net session last week. Regular number three Pope has taken the gloves in this Test, sliding down the batting order to number six.