Hobart Test, Day 1, Close
Thursday, November 22, 2001

For about an over after tea New Zealand must have thought they were back in this match, but the damage had already been done. You cannot give away 200 runs to a side of this quality and hope to get back on level terms. Australia know their strength in depth, and they know that they will rarely get bundled out for a low score, so they were able to recover from the loss of Steve Waugh and Damien Martyn for ducks, firstly through Adam Gilchrist, and then through Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne. They batted aggressively and confidently, and with Brett Lee still to come, there are plenty more runs to be had in this innings.

For New Zealand, Daniel Vettori was impressive. He bowled with skill and tenacity, and the wickets he took were the result of clever deception, rather than the losses of concentration that led to the fall of Langer and Hayden. Shane Bond made an honest fist of things on his debut – he gave it everything and will be tired tonight. The rest, though, have nothing to be proud of.

It is crucial for New Zealand that they wrap this innings up for as few runs as possible, but that is not the same as saying they must wrap it up quickly. The difference between a total of 410 and 500 is huge, and patience will be the key to preventing such a score. New Zealand cannot throw everything they've got at the Australians and hope to come out unscathed - they must go out there with a set plan to dry up the runs, and force the batsmen to come to them. They should know that by now – they've had three innings against Australia, and every time they've bowled too straight they've been put away.

They will have to get Ricky Ponting early. He rode his luck early on today, but he kept his nerve like Langer did, and he was aggressive from the word go. That said, there were simply too many balls in his slot today. New Zealand cannot afford to bowl like that tomorrow.

Steve Waugh's duck will have alarmed a few of his followers, who might be wondering if he is fully fit yet. He did score a century for NSW against Queensland at the weekend, though, so he's had a decent workout, even if he is still a bit stiff from all the training he's needed to get back to full fitness. He was a bit unlucky today – the ball looked a shade high – but it was poor shot-selection nonetheless.

I'm sure the Australians will be looking forward to bowling on this pitch – it has a nice level of moisture, decent turn and bounce, and there was still sideways movement even for the second new ball. On a fast outfield, New Zealand would have expected to have Australia at 300 for 6 by the close – it was certainly not a 411 track. And there's the rub. New Zealand have bowled 111 runs too badly.

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 1, Tea: Beaten by boredom
Day 1, Lunch: Listless and emotionless

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