Well, masses of credit to New Zealand for at least keeping the series interesting. More than that, after the first few days' play,there was even the prospect of a sensational Black Caps win amidst the verdant setting of Dunedin. Had it not been for the Day 1 washout, Brendan McCullum's men could yet have taken a lead. However, once they put their woeful first innings shot-making out of their minds on what was by all accounts a perfect batting track, the England top order are probably the best in the business at grinding out a result.
It was all looking so promising as the NZ new boys Bruce Martin and Hamish Rutherford helped deliver their side an extraordinary 293-run lead. Martin and Neil Wagner shared eight cheap wickets to embarrass the visitors, then the tall 23 year-old left-handed opener compiled 171, one of the best debut Test innings in history, to defy England's lauded attack. His skipper gave Finn a late-order thumping, but credit to Jimmy Anderson for persevering on an unhelpful pitch to take four wickets and keep the team in with a chance.
WIth almost two days to bat, this was an occasion tailor-made for Alastair Cook and Nick Compton. The former has done it umpteen times at this level while the latter is no stranger to concentration, focus and painstaking performances for Somerset. And that's just in T20! I was delighted that Compton reached his maiden Test century just before close on Day 4 to prevent a potentially nervous night.
And yet England could give even greater thanks to Finn the nightwatchman. He stuck around for almost five hours for his 56 while first Compton, then Trott and Pietersen fell at the other end. KP and Root each failed twice in the match but ultimately it didn't matter because Ian Bell and Matt Prior held their nerve and made sure McCullum and co wouldn't have the opportunity to thrash their way to a low target at the death.
So no whitewash. Both sides can take some positives from the match. England probably won't suffer such a collective batting meltdown again, and showed in the second innings while they remain number two in the world. Wellington should hold no fears. The home team also demonstrated some talent in depth, although I have to say it did owe a hell of a lot to Rutherford's straight bat and level-headedness and McCullum's belligerence. The others need to step up to their high standard if New Zealand are to win either of the remaining fixtures but anything is possible!
