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Some sports commentators over the weekend were rummaging through the debris of New Zealand’s latest Dead Ant routine in Australia with a metal detector looking for positives. So not wanting to pout water on an otherwise memorable weekend for New Zealand sport we thought we’d joint in with the mood of optimism and straw clutching. Amazing what a fluke World Cup triumph can do to a nation’s psyche really. Probably the best line to come up over the last few days was that the side had at least got themselves into a winning position at various stages over the first 2 days, and that was a rare thing for New Zealand sides against the Baggy Greens. After all, it is now over 15 years since New Zealand has beaten Australia in a test, so it seems we’re now putting an asterisk or a smiley face next to those tests where we had a sniff for a bit. Brilliant. Cricket historians can now start a new exercise of going through all those tests since 1993 when NZ were in with a chance at some stage. There were a couple in 2001, the Auckland test of 2000 could provide hours of banter, and even Christchurch 2005 might make the smiley face chart. So what else can we take from this test in which we had a fleeting chance? Daniel Vettori is good a calling at the toss. The pressure was on here, and he won a good one.
Watch out Sehwag, 1st innings 1st test at the end of March. A good test for whoever is going to end up writing Ryder’s first biography, probably in a couple of years time. He proved here that the spotlight will never be off him. The commentators loved the fat puns all the way through. Opposition fans are always going to like someone who bats attractively but not for too long. He got a couple of unlikely wickets in the first innings, and anyone who can bowl Clarke when 2 runs short of a century is going to be popular outside of Sydney. He played some great shots with no foot movement, but still found time to get one right in the bladder off Brett Lee. And then dropped a crucial, although not match-losing catch. It was a good test for Matthew Bell. It was a good test for Ian Bell. Up until the end of the Australian second innings it looked as if he was going to be the only person in history to be ever dismissed in a test by Grant Elliott. Then Mitch came to the rescue. It was a great test for Daniel Flynn. It is a rare thing to score 66 runs over both innings in a test match and end up being referred to as the second best batsman in a team. Jamie How can be happy. Two abject failures, and his spot is still rock solid. Bracewell has gone quiet. Ponting is still rattled and getting through the overs at a rate of 12 to the hour. Imagine the damage NZ could do to his back pocket if they were able to bat for a full day. The Adelaide pitch is famous for being a road. There is every chance New Zealand will reach 200 here; in one innings at least.
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