Rain prevented any play before lunch in the first test at Lord's on Saturday as England looked to go 1-0 up in a three-match series against New Zealand.
The Black Caps were struggling at 36 for three in their second innings at Friday's close, needing a further 218 runs to reach a target of 254 after England paceman Gus Atkinson struck twice and Josh Tongue dismissed key batsman Kane Williamson.
England's strong position in their first test since a 4-1 Ashes series loss in Australia also owed much to debutant Emilio Gay.
The opening batsman top-scored with 57 in England's second-innings total of 226 – a valuable contribution in a low-scoring game where the pitch has favoured the fast bowlers throughout.
Play, in a match already interrupted by bad weather, should have resumed at 12:00 CAT on Saturday, but persistent early morning rain meant the pitch and square remained covered some 40 minutes later.
The delay was a boost to New Zealand's hopes of escaping with a draw after they were bowled out for just 113 in their first innings, with recalled England seamer Ollie Robinson taking his test-best figures of 5-39.
But with the sky in northwest London brightening considerably later Saturday, the umpires announced lunch would be taken early at 13:20 CAT in the hope, provided there was no further rain, of starting at 14:00 CAT in a second session now extended to more than three hours.
This is the 150th test at Lord's, the most staged by any ground.
ENGLAND: Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wkt), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
NEW ZEALAND: Tom Latham (capt), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wkt), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Will O'Rourke