Stokes, back to lead the side after a turbulent fortnight that saw him stood down for last week's defeat at the Oval, lost a crucial toss and saw the tourists post 4-361 in sweltering heat on a perfect batting pitch, with Tom Latham (151) and Devon Conway (157) flogging England's bowlers on Thursday.
Yet after the openers put on 317 in 73 overs, the highest ever partnership for New Zealand against England, they both departed in the space of seven balls and Stokes could be delighted that four late wickets fell for 44 runs, including two wickets off the final two balls of the day.
Stokes, who'd received a rousing welcome from the Nottingham public, was the man to finally deliver the breakthrough, cramping his fellow skipper Latham just outside off stump and snaring the edge, before Joe Root's part-time spin drew Conway into a rare misjudgement.
There was then a late gift from Rachin Ravindra as he top-edged a hook off Gus Atkinson, before Henry Nicholls nicked Jofra Archer behind to leave the hosts smiling after a day of toil.
England did not create a single clearcut chance in the first session, failed to review a key lbw shout against Latham in the second and then saw wicketkeeper Jamie Smith drop a regulation catch in the evening.
The score was 0-276 when Atkinson, also back in the side after joining Stokes on the night out which saw both men handed written conduct warnings, had flicked Latham's glove on 129.Â
The ball carried cleanly through to Smith, but he somehow misread the flight and botched the chance.
New Zealand had injuries to their leading wicket-taker, Matt Henry, and their leading run-scorer, Glenn Phillip, but their worries were shelved as soon as the coin came down in their favour, Latham going on to a 17th Test ton and Conway an eighth.
It wasn't the first time they've combined like this, having put on 323 for the first wicket against West Indies at Mount Maunganui in December.
By lunch, they had laid their foundations at 108 without loss. There was one missed opportunity early on, Latham nicking Jofra Archer through third slip just moments after Stokes had rearranged his cordon and taken the extra catcher out.
The openers added another 105 between lunch and tea. Latham, on 71, was hit in front of the stumps by Shoaib Bashir. Perhaps sensing an inside edge, Stokes opted not to call for DRS. Had he sent the decision upstairs, Latham would have been gone.
But the wheels came off in the early evening, with costly overs from Bashir and Tongue adding 25 to the total in just two overs and kicking off a spell of rapid scoring.
When Smith got the chance to end the suffering with a simple take, he made the most glaring error of the day and added to a list of dropped catches that now tallies double figures in the series.
