3rd Test: New Zealand v England at Auckland, 30 Mar-3 Apr 2002 CricInfo Live Report

3rd Test: New Zealand v England at Auckland, 30 Mar-3 Apr 2002
Lynn McConnell

New Zealand 1st innings: Rain delays, Rain delay, End of innings,
England 1st innings: Stumps,
Live Reports from previous days

NEW ZEALAND LEAVE ENGLAND REELING ON DAY THREE
New Zealand provided some fireworks in the third National Bank Series Test when having England 12/3 when bad light again forced an early end to another day in the series at Auckland.

Michael Vaughan was eight not out and Graham Thorpe had still to score.

England's innings, chasing New Zealand's 202, could not have started more disastrously. In a replay of the first over of the series in Christchurch, bowled by Chris Cairns, Daryl Tuffey took two wickets in four balls.

Off the second ball of the innings, Tuffey pitched the ball on middle and off stump and had it come back slightly to hit him on the back leg in front of his stumps and umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan had no hesitation giving him out leg before wicket.

Then three balls later Mark Butcher prodded a ball in the direction of short leg where Mark Richardson slipped his hands beneath the ball before it made contact with the ground and claimed a catch which required consultation with the third umpire before he was given out.

Richardson, in his enthusiasm for the favourable appeal, ran down the pitch and was beside the umpire before he called for the television eye.

Chris Drum joined the fray and providing some discomfort for England captain Nasser Hussain when he fended off a ball from his bat handle, and gloves, which flew high to square leg.

In his next over, he had Hussain edging a ball to Stephen Fleming at first slip where the catch was held with Hussain out for two, and England three for 11. Fleming, who moments before, along with the other members of his slips cordon, had been the victim of taunting for his catching, turned to the Barmy Army and had his moment of satisfaction.

Tuffey had two wickets for four runs from 3.4 overs while Chris Drum had one for six.

NEW ZEALAND ALL OUT FOR 202 AFTER CHASING RUNS
New Zealand lost their last five wickets for 30 runs in 8.5 overs as they chased runs to try and give themselves a chance of beating England in the third National Bank Series Test match in the rain-affected match at Auckland's Eden Park today.

New Zealand were all out for 202 with England theoretically facing 25 overs in the remainder of the day. Light will probably mean they will only face 15 of those overs before stummps.

When play resumed at 4.15pm New Zealand were clearly needing to score runs quickly, a sentiment obvious from Adam Parore's approach. He played a genuine shot of anger when rocking onto his back foot and pulling a ball from Matthew Hoggard for four to mid-wicket.

Then he hit a sweetly-executed lofted cover drive several rows into the North Stand for six off Andrew Flintoff's bowling.

However, Daniel Vettori fell, leg before wicket to Hoggard for three, unwittingly setting in train a couple of bizarre moments.

Andre Adams strode onto the ground for his Test debut and after playing out the remainder of Hoggard's over, he got to the other end to face Andrew Flintoff and promptly hit a catch to Nasser Hussain at first slip, which the England captain failed to hold and which conceded four runs. Fortunately, the ball had been called a no ball.

Off the next delivery, Adams swung at the ball, caught the edge and Hussain, leaping got hands to the ball but was unable to hold it and Adams took a single.

Parore then provided some reward for Flintoff by hitting the ball to backward square leg where substitute fieldsman Usman Afzaal ran around to take the catch. Parore had scored 45 off 129 balls and New Zealand were 198/8.

Adams attempted some cheap run scoring but in attempting to get on with it, he miscued a ball from Flintoff which flew high to mid-on where Ashley Giles comfortably took the catch.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming didn't declare and sent last batsman Chris Drum in. He scored two runs but the last batsman out was Daryl Tuffey hooking a ball from Hoggard to fine leg where Mark Butcher held the catch to have New Zealand all out for 202.

Andrew Caddick took no more wickets and ended with four for 70 while Hoggard took three for 66 and Andrew Flintoff three for 49.

HARRIS UNABLE TO BETTER BEST SCORE AS RAIN DISRUPTS AGAIN
Only 13.1 overs were possible in the third National Bank Series Test match before the rain, that has plagued the match in Auckland this afternoon, rolled in to further disrupt play.

In that time, New Zealand's scored advanced to 174/6, with Chris Harris the only wicket to fall, when leg before wicket to Andrew Flintoff, in his second over after he came on to relieve Andrew Caddick.

Harris had equalled his previous highest Test score, the 71 he scored in Bulawayo against Zimbabwe in 1997/98, but spent 20 balls trying to pass that mark.

In Flintoff's first over Harris maintained his first day practice of not playing a shot at anything he could avoid and survived two appeals for leg before wicket. But in the second over he couldn't convince umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan of his innocence and was given out leg before wicket.

His partner in their stand of 86 runs, Adam Parore was on 30 when the rain break occurred while Daniel Vettori, the new batsman, was still to score.

Earlier, Harris had soon been back into scoring rhythm, although the risk element was high. One boundary, off Matthew Hoggard's bowling flew just out of reach of the assembled slips cordon.

But he could never have imagined he would get four runs as easily from Andrew Caddick as on the occasion when a shot along the ground evaded gully fieldsman Ashley Giles who was well and truly done in the timing of his dive.

Harris then cover drove the next ball for three to equal his previous highest Test score of 71.

Play started at 1.13pm after ground staff managed to get the ground playable following rain in the morning. A cool south-westerly wind was blowing and taking the edge off the sunny conditions.

Flintoff's figures were one for 30 off 12 overs while Caddick's figures had advanced to four for 70. Hoggard had one for 57 off 24.1 overs.

MORE DELAYS ON DAY THREE OF THIRD TEST
Day three of the third and final National Bank Series Test between New Zealand and England in Auckland promises to be another rain-dominated day.

Play was to start at 10am, but more rain overnight had allowed minimal drying and while the day dawned fine, and with blue skies, there was an ever-present threat of rain.

Ground staff had the covers off around start time but a huge build-up of dark clouds behind Eden Park had them hurrying to put the covers on before another deluge at about 10.30am.

Heaters have been placed on the ground to try and dry problem areas of the outfield, and there is a drying breeze, but it is unlikely there will be any play before the scheduled lunch time of 12.30pm.

The forecast is for improving weather, although there is also the threat of showers.