After eight days of ducking off home early, the New Zealanders had to face a hard day at the office in Harare, Zimbabwe.

It was the toughest day of the series so far as Zimbabwe batsmen Guy Whittall and Andy Flower staged a great recovery for their side, a partnership that could yet stave off an innings defeat.

Whittall played his natural game and had the reward of as good a Test century as you could possibly imagine. His 131-run fifth wicket stand with Flower, who scored 65, was a superb fightback which tested New Zealand as it has been all too rarely tested to date this summer.

That has to be good news. Test wins should not come easily. And with South Africa and Pakistan looming on the horizon, the harder the match play the better it is for the Kiwis.

With that in mind, there is still plenty of work for the New Zealanders to if they are to claim the Test. They still have 71 runs to play with, and the first session of each day's play so far has been the best for the bowling side.

It would be great reward for some tremendous work done by Shayne O'Connor if he were to be among the spoils to be had on the last day. His consistent bowling has been a boon for New Zealand, just at the time it was needed.

Having put in plenty of hard work in the off season, after having been on the fringes for the last four years, O'Connor is now shaping as a genuine Test bowler with consistency a prized asset.

Left-armers have been great contributors to New Zealand attacks over the years. Players like Richard Collinge and Gary Troup are the forerunners of the modern breed of O'Connor and Geoff Allott. They offer variety to a team which, through sheer lack of numbers, has to be limited in resources.

Equally, off-spinner Paul Wiseman has been under-used in this game. He was taken to by Whittall in a clearly deliberate plan of attack on the fourth day, but may yet have the final say.

What was impressive, considering the pressure the New Zealanders were under in the field, was the way they kept their composure. Nathan Astle's quick thinking in the run out of Grant Flower, breaking the bails before he had the ball and then still being able to pull a stump from the ground and take the wicket, was a clear example of that.

Mathew Sinclair's prompt return to wicketkeeper Adam Parore to remove Alistair Campbell was another.

New Zealand may have been under pressure on the fourth day, but it is still in control. That has to be the most pleasing aspect of the tough day of play.

Patience, as demonstrated in Sydney by Kiwi single sculler Rob Waddell who left his power burst to victory until the last 400m today, is a great virtue. The cricket side look well capable of following that up on the last day.

© CricInfo