Perth Test, Day 4, Close
Monday, December 3, 2001

This spirit of this New Zealand side is fantastic – their hard graft over the first three innings has given them the freedom to try things out, and they were able to laugh and joke with each other in that final session. A win is still not a foregone conclusion – 65/35 – that's how I'd rate their chances. One unexpected factor that may come into play is the weather. The forecast for tomorrow isn't too good, but then it wasn't too flash today either.

A lot of credit for New Zealand's position has to go to Stephen Fleming. He is a result captain - his record includes 13 wins and 13 losses, and if you put your team in a win/loss situation often enough, they will learn how to win far quicker than they would by playing out for draws. And having your results in black and white means that the players tend to pick themselves – the good ones will stick around, the bad ones have nowhere to hide. Fleming came to Australia saying he wanted a scrap – well, he's certainly got himself that.

Chris Cairns didn't take the new ball this evening. He's been a bit down on technique and confidence this series, and his pace has suffered as a result. Fleming felt his best option for wickets was with the new boys Bond and Martin, but Cairns will not have minded. To be classed as a strike bowler, you need to have a certain discipline, and Cairns has never been one for discipline. He revels in the freedom to experiment, and with the pressure off he might return to his best. After all, he didn't take long to grab his wicket when he did come on.

New Zealand would have gleefully grabbed this position at the start of the innings – in fact they'd have been content if they'd gone for more runs, so long as they got the wickets. Tomorrow's task is to break the day down into hours. They'll want two wickets in the first hour, maybe another in the second, and the game is in the bag if they can manage five wickets in the first two sessions. Vettori of course is the key, the rest will just have to contribute something each.

New Zealand once again proved the glaringly obvious in their innings – you have to get in on this pitch. It was careful shot selection from Cairns and Astle that lifted their total, but when they tried to push things on too soon after tea they paid the price. Australia will have to be aware of that, but there's no doubt they will still go for it. 370 in a day? Yup, that's obtainable. But every partnership will be crucial. Steve Waugh's fighting qualities may be called on, Damien Martyn's local knowledge will be useful, while Adam Gilchrist might find he needs to rein it in a bit. And Mark Waugh looked to have tweaked a hamstring late in the day, which may be an added factor. But Australia pride themselves on their run-rate, and they also hate losing. It's going to be an interesting day.

Ian Healy made a record 395 dismissals in 119 Tests for Australia. His comments will be appearing on Wisden.com at the end of every session in the series. He was talking to Andrew Miller.

More Ian Healy
Day 4, Tea: Cairns means business
Day 4, Lunch: It's not curtains

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