New Zealand and Sri Lanka face each other in the final Test of a two match series at Seddon Park in Hamilton, starting on Friday, with the Kiwis leading the series 1-0, after their 122 run victory in Dunedin.
The Black Caps captain, Brendan McCullum, must take a lot of the credit for that win, as the timing of his second innings declaration was decisive, given the tough bowling conditions that the home side were faced with, along with strength of the visitors batting line up.
There was little wrong with the home side’s batting in Dunedin, where they galloped along at four runs an over in both innings, as they posted 400+ in their first effort, and followed that up with 267-3 declared second time around.
Kane Williamson was outstanding in both innings, while Martin Guptill and McCullum himself were impressive performers in the first innings, as was Tom Latham in the second.
Although both Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal managed to get into the 80s during the visitors’ first innings, the team could only muster 294 altogether. If they are to level the series in Hamilton, they will need a greater all round contribution from their batters, and for players who “get a start” to go on and make the big scores required to be successful at Test level.
However, of even more concern for the tourists, is the state of the Seddon Park pitch.
Traditionally a spin friendly venue, the tourists had hoped that their advantage in that area of the game over their hosts, would give them their best chance of a Test success.
There is enough grass on the strip just a couple of days before the start of the Test match, to make it difficult to distinguish from the rest of the square. It is the Kiwi seamers who are rubbing their hands in anticipation, and not the Sri Lankan spinners.