England opted to bowl on an Eden Park pitch that looked like it might offer some pace and bounce early on. Steven Finn dismissed Hamish Rutherford (37) to record England's only success on a challenging first day in Auckland. But the wicket had little life in it and Fulton, playing his 13th Test at the age of 34, hit an unbeaten 124 and Kane Williamson 83 in the hosts' 250-1.
Nicknamed 'Two-Metre Peter' because of his
height, Fulton became only the second New Zealander, after Zin Harris
in South Africa in 1962, to score a maiden century after turning 34.
Fulton had a life on 16 when a James Anderson delivery
flew off the edge of his bat and narrowly avoided the slip fielders
before running away to the boundary.
The 6ft 6in opener made another mistake going after a Stuart Broad delivery a few overs later but the short boundaries at Eden Park, which is normally used for rugby, meant the ball flew over the rope for six.
After being on 99 for nine balls, Fulton brought up his three figures early in the last session, having faced 203 deliveries, and the opener continued to frustrate England's labouring pace attack after the new ball was taken in the final hour.
England's body language looked poor as they grew increasingly deflated and unable to change the course of the match.
Williamson, 22, made his second successive half century, and was closing in on a flawless fourth Test ton at the close of play.
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