Trent Boult took three wickets as England slumped to 55-6 on the second day of the third Test on Friday, with their batting frailties returning to haunt them.

England last week went 2-0 up in the three-match series playing bold and aggressive cricket under their new leadership pair of captain Ben Stokes and Test coach Brendon McCullum, a former New Zealand skipper.

But replying to Test world champions New Zealand's first innings 329, England lost six wickets within 12 overs at Headingley, most of them due to good bowling rather than cavalier batting.

Left-hander Alex Less, dropped in the slips off the first ball of the innings, was bowled by a superb Boult leg-cutter four balls later.

Ollie Pope, fresh from a hundred in the second Test at Trent Bridge, was also cleaned up by Boult to leave England 14-2.

The out-of-form Crawley was next to fall, bowled middle stump by Boult before Tim Southee had star batsman Joe Root caught behind for five on his Yorkshire home ground.

That left England 21-4 and although skipper Stokes counter-attacked by going down the pitch to drive Southee for six, he could only chip recalled left-arm quick Neil Wagner to mid-off trying to play a similar shot.

And when wicketkeeper Ben Foakes was plumb lbw to Wagner for nought, England were 55-6 from 11.5 overs.

Earlier, Daryl Mitchell hit his third hundred of the series before falling on the stroke of lunch to leave New Zealand 325-8.

World Test champions New Zealand are 2-0 down in the three-match series but Mitchell has been a shining light and his 109 in Leeds followed scores of 108 at Lord's and 190 in Nottingham.

Mitchell, 31, is only the fifth New Zealander to score hundreds in three successive Tests.

After resuming on 78 not out, Mitchell also scored the 12 extra runs he needed to break Martin Donnelly's 73-year-old record for the most runs made by a New Zealander — 462 — in a Test series against England.