Rearguard Action

Day 4 at Wellington

Surprise, surprise. It seems Mark Greatbatch's hope that his side would push Australia to a fifth day has been fulfilled, thanks to Vettori and Brendon McCullum.

Whatever happens on the final day, this definitely ranks as McCullum's best test innings to date. The pair of nineties he scored at Lords were typical, stroke filled affairs. Three out of his four test centuries have come against less challenging attacks in Zimbabwe and Bangladesh - though I felt last month's 185 against the Bangladeshis was actually quite a mature knock - and the one against India last year saw him flogging a tired attack on a dead pitch.

Today we saw him play the kind of applied, risk-free innings that NZ supporters have long been crying out for. It seems to me he benefits a great deal from batting with a calm, free scoring partner like Vettori. In the one-day arena, his preferred partner is Jesse Ryder, whose prolonged absence has affected his play at the top.

I'm inclined, however, to treat all this talk of "salvaging a draw" and "putting Australia under pressure" with caution. Southee, Arnel and Martin make up a very weak lower order so the Aussies are really only one wicket away from complete control.

The best hope is for this furious wind over Wellington (as pointed out by Ben) to continue to frustrate the Aussies. Now this adds a whole new dimension to the importance of local conditions. Ah, the strange beauty of test cricket.