Good old fashioned strangulation job

What a turnaround. From being the diffident side hopelessly ouclassed two days ago, we suddenly looked like a sound unit all over again. Of course we needed a little help from the conditions; the classic kiwi dead slow track of yesteryear, which made the ball difficult to hit on the up. The sort of wicket that GR Larsen or CZ Harris of yesteryear would have relished.

The portable pitch took England by surprise and I'm sure Vettori was happy he didn't have to decide what to do after the toss. It probably wasn't as difficult to bat on as England's 130 suggested, but full credit to Chris Martin and Kyle Mills who bowled an excellent first spell. Their partnership is absolutely vital for the rest of the tour. Also vital was Vettori's return because it added heft to the bowling, as well as making life easier for BB McCullum, who can now definitely appreciate the strain Alec Stewart went through in 1998-99 when he was keeping wicket, opening the batting and captaining the side. His breezy, if chancy 42 is a sign that the 20-20s are nothing but a bad memory.

Despite the positives we can take going into the next game - the strokeplay of Ryder and McCullum at the top, and the bowling, I must say both SB Styris and PG Fulton look in terrible form. Scotty has retired from tests and but for a great bowling performance today, would have put his limited overs place in doubt as well. Fulton's only run was an edge through the vacant slip; he needs a long hard innings at the top of the order, perhaps at three.

Anyhow it was great to witness the fightback once again online, over homework and several glasses of iced tea. Look forward to the rest of the games which, supposedly, are on harder pitches which are going to suit England.