Tour match: South Australia v New Zealanders at Adelaide, 16-19 Nov 2001 CricInfo Live Report

Tour match: South Australia v New Zealanders at Adelaide, 16-19 Nov 2001
John Polack

New Zealanders 1st innings: Lunch - Day 2, Tea - Day 2, Stumps - Day 2,
Live Reports from previous days

MCMILLAN, VINCENT PROVIDE SPARK AMID SHOWERS

New Zealand's cricketers and the advent of rainfall in a predominantly dry centre formed an inextricable connection again today - this time at the Adelaide Oval. And, by the end of a generally frustrating second day of the tour match against South Australia, the Black Caps accordingly looked no closer to breaking their win drought on this 2001-02 tour of Australia.

In overcast conditions, play opened on time and remained uninterrupted until 40 minutes before tea. But the presence of a blanket of grey cloud had always threatened the prospect of a full day's action and, beyond the advent of a heavy shower in the middle of the afternoon, there was ultimately little option for the umpires but to call a very early halt to proceedings.

In such play as was possible, not all ran smoothly for the visitors either.

Before a South Australian declaration at 9/297 less than 15 minutes into the day's play, there was time enough for paceman Shane Bond (1/43) to lure wicketkeeper-batsman Graham Manou (34) into a mistimed drive to wide mid off and snare his first wicket of the tour.

And for Craig McMillan (49*) and Lou Vincent (26*) to lead a fine recovery with an unbeaten partnership of 70 runs that carried the Kiwis to a scoreline of 3/110 by the early close.

Otherwise, though, it was another lacklustre effort by the New Zealand top order which loomed as the major talking point of the day. Matthew Bell (0) and Mathew Sinclair (10) again failed to impress, and Mark Richardson (16) was another to succumb without making a major contribution. The form of Bell and Sinclair must remain a major concern ahead of next week's Second Test in Hobart.

It would be wrong to say that the New Zealand innings had barely begun before that pair was in trouble - but only because it took Richardson and Bell as many as 32 minutes to accumulate the first six runs of the innings.

It was after that time that the sort of disaster that he could probably least afford befell the out-of-form Bell.

Richardson had pushed a delivery from paceman Paul Rofe (0/11) just to the left of Ben Higgins at cover, encouraging Bell to run close to one-third of the length of the pitch in the quest for a quick single before being forced to retreat. As Higgins aimed a brilliant left handed throw at the stumps, it proved a fatal error of judgement.

Sinclair similarly elected upon pure occupation of the crease during a period in which the New Zealand total barely managed to exceed the number of overs bowled. His vigil ended after 56 minutes when he top edged a cut at veteran leg spinner Peter McIntyre (2/42).

By this stage, McIntyre and left arm spinner Brad Young (0/41) were creating havoc for the New Zealanders with a beguiling combination of bounce and appreciable turn on a pitch that will almost certainly be a veritable slow bowling paradise by the time that this match reaches its fourth day.

Shortly after lunch, Richardson was neither forward nor back, and was late on his shot, as he tried to defend a looping McIntyre leg break that turned sharply back in at him.

Mercifully for the Kiwis, a complete change came over the game with Vincent's arrival at the crease.

Where the batting of their predecessors in the order had lacked nous, both McMillan (49*) and Vincent (26*) suddenly brought composure to the innings. Importantly, they also joined in the process of at last ticking the New Zealand scoreboard over with some consistency.

Vincent - a player who spent the formative part of his career in Adelaide - looked very lucky to survive a huge appeal for a bat-pad catch off McIntyre at 25. And McMillan had an escape of his own at 2 when short leg fieldsman David Fitzgerald grassed a catch off the bowling of Young.

But there were lovely strokes on both sides of the wicket from each of the two players, particularly to the oval's famous short square boundaries.

Though the impact of the rain was to largely scuttle the day's events, one glorious McMillan six over the straight boundary in the second over after lunch will live especially long in the memory.

MCMILLAN, VINCENT ENGINEER FINE REVIVAL FROM NEW ZEALAND

Middle order batsmen Craig McMillan and Lou Vincent have inspired a fine recovery from New Zealand during the post-lunch session of play on day two of the tour match against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval this afternoon. Rain wiped out the final 40 minutes of the session but not before the two players had lifted their team from the peril of 3/40 to a mark of 3/110 by the point at which the adjournment was taken earlier than the scheduled time.

The New Zealanders had resumed at 2/31 after lunch, and were quickly in further trouble when Mark Richardson (16) settled upon an awful method of dealing with a looping Peter McIntyre (2/42) delivery. Richardson was neither forward nor back, and was also very late with an attempt to lay a defensive bat on a ball that he found striking his front pad on or around the line of off stump as it turned back toward middle.

Mercifully for the Kiwis, a complete change came over the game with Vincent's arrival at the crease.

Where the batting of his predecessors in the order lacked nous, Vincent (26*) suddenly brought a composed look to the innings. Importantly, he helped McMillan (49*) in the process of at last ticking the New Zealand scoreboard over with some consistency.

The young right hander, who spent the early part of his cricket career in Adelaide, showed particular heart - as well as a very solid technique - in refusing to be tied down by the tandem spinning combination of McIntyre and Brad Young (0/41). Those two players had made the life of the early batsmen such a misery with a cocktail of bounce and turn on a sympathetic pitch that each of their deliveries resembled a hand grenade in the half-hour period that bordered lunch.

Inexplicably, a huge appeal for a catch at silly point off McIntyre was rejected when Vincent's score was 25 but connoisseurs of attractive strokeplay couldn't have had too many problems with the decision.

Though many of his shots were based around stiff-wristed hitting of the ball and limited movement of the feet, McMillan has also assembled a typically entertaining innings. He was quickly into his stride after lunch, spanking a glorious six over the straight boundary in the second over after the resumption. Many fine attacking strokes have also featured thereafter.

SLOW GOING FOR KIWIS ON OVERCAST MORNING IN ADELAIDE

Conditions are overcast at the Adelaide Oval this morning. And, in kind, the start to day two of the tour match between South Australia and New Zealand has been far more understated than yesterday, with the visitors ambling to a mark of 2/31 by lunch in response to their hosts' score of 9/297 declared.

Play opened with the South Australians resuming from their overnight position of 8/281 in their first innings. Wicketkeeper-batsman Graham Manou (34) encouraged thoughts of an appealing blaze of strokeplay in the opening session when he launched himself quickly into a well-timed cover drive and a rocketing pull. But the flurry didn't last, and he mistimed his attempt at succeeding with another attacking stroke to find himself ballooning a drive at Shane Bond (1/43) to Mark Richardson at wide mid off. It was the wholehearted Bond's first wicket on tour.

Tailenders Paul Rofe (5*) and Mark Harrity (1*) then occupied the crease for another eight minutes as they added five runs in combination. But even captain Darren Lehmann wasn't sufficiently convinced in the wisdom of allowing their exhibition to continue, and he duly pulled the pin on the innings less than 15 minutes into the day's play.

Like a number of others on this tour, the New Zealand innings opened in modest fashion. Richardson (13*) and Matthew Bell (0) laboured for 32 minutes over the task of adding six runs at the top of the order before disaster befell the out-of-form Bell when he was brilliantly run out by Ben Higgins.

Richardson had pushed a delivery from Rofe (0/6) just to the left of Higgins at cover, encouraging Bell to believe a quick single was on offer. He was so interested in such an outcome that he had run close to one-third of the length of the pitch before being forced to retreat. It was a fatal mistake. By this time, Higgins was already on to the proceeds of Richardson's abbreviated drive and steadying himself to hit the stumps with a superb left handed throw. Bell was narrowly caught short of his ground but there was still enough distance between bat and crease line for the third umpire to be able to establish that it was a clear-cut decision.

In the lead-up to the interval, Richardson and number three batsman Mathew Sinclair (10) then attempted to shore up the defences with a display of predominantly dead-batted strokeplay. Richardson drove the ball crisply at times but rarely hit the ball wide of the fieldsmen on either side of the wicket. The only boundary, instructively, came courtesy of an outside edge from Sinclair to third man as he launched a frustrated-looking drive at the left arm pace of Harrity (0/9).

And then the strategy backfired when Sinclair moved back and tried to cut a Peter McIntyre (1/3) leg break, only to attain a thick top edge and offer a catch to Manou.

In each of their eight overs in total, there was evidence of appreciable turn both for McIntyre and for left arm orthodox spinner Brad Young (0/9), which suggests that the New Zealanders might be well advised to score the bulk of their runs in this match today rather than in two days' time. Each of the three batsmen who faced them was in consistent trouble.

There was a noticeable increase in tempo as soon as Craig McMillan (3*) ventured to the crease, even to the point that he was dropped at short leg by David Fitzgerald off Young from just the second delivery of his innings.

But it nonetheless appears, for the moment at least, that simple occupation of the crease remains firmly at the head of the Black Caps' game-plan in the lead-up to next week's Second Test against Australia in Hobart.