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Daniel Vettori - Source: NZPA Images -
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HERO OF THE DAY
Daniel Vettori. Today was another masterclass in unorthodox yet
hugely effective batting. Is there anything he can't do? Well,
apart from stopping the rain?
VILLAIN OF THE DAY
The weather gods. How uncharitable of them to end Dunedin's
unprecedented dry early-summer spell just as Captain Fantastic was
closing on a second century in two Test innings.
PLAY OF THE DAY
Brendon McCullum played some superb shots in the morning session
without resorting to the ungainly slogging that often brings about
his downfall. In fact, it's hard to recall a shot hit in the air
all morning. The highlight was McCullum's imperious slash through
point off Umar Gul that evoked memories of Sachin Tendulkar in his
pomp. The ball was not that short nor wide, but he got on top of
the ball expertly and sent it rocketing to the point boundary.
TALKING POINT
The hours of play for Tests in New Zealand this summer, with play
starting at twelve noon and finishing at the late hour of 7pm. Had
we started at the old time of 10.30am on Day Two, we would've had
two full sessions before the rain arrived. The reasoning for the
late start is that encourages people to come down after work to
watch the final session in its entirety; but the crowd didn't swell
noticeably after 5pm last night.
CROWD WATCH
Another healthy crowd turned up, although again conspicuous in
their absence were the Pakistan fans. India's fans added real
colour to proceedings during their team's tour last summer. To
banner watch, and there was only one on display - a decent effort
from some young locals that explicated their homoerotic fantasies
about Daniel Vettori.
FOOD WATCH
The lunchtime spread of lamb tagine and chicken stroganoff with an
array of muffins certainly wasn't without its highlights, but the
real piece-de-resistance at University Oval are the bacon butties
courtesy of the mobile van out the back. A perennial favourite
favourite at the very Dunedin price of $4.50 each.
DAY TWO VERDICT
New Zealand's day certainly, and Vettori was in imperious form
until he fell for 99. The Black Caps pushed on past the 400 mark
for which the bowlers will be most grateful. Pakistan again looked
disinterested and short of a gallop in the field, although the
off-spinner Ajmal had his moments. Mohammed Yousuf's opening field
setting was far too defensive and it set a tone of containment
rather than attack for the morning session that didn't worry the
Black Caps pair a bit as they added 99 runs with a minimum of risk.
But in spite of their efforts, the draw has now come in to a $1.72
favourite.
DAY THREE PROSPECTS
The forecast is for cooler but mainly dry weather on Thursday. And
before the Black Caps go thinking they're out of the woods in this
Test, they best cast their minds back to the 2003 series. In
Hamilton they came perilously close to an embarrassing defeat after
posting 563 batting first and slumping to 96 for 8 in the second
innings, before time ran out. In the second Test in Wellington,
they took a 170-run lead into the second innings, only to be
skittled for a dismal 103. Pakistan's batsmen ran them them down
with ease to record a seven-wicket win and a 1-0 series result.
Bond and O'Brien will need to bat as long as they can tomorrow,
then unleash a fresh pace attack upon Pakistan's inexperienced top
order.
