Auckland Test, Day 4
Tuesday, April 2, 2002

That was quite a day – and a very long one. I think someone will have to look at the regulations about adding time on, because it does make it a very long day. I know we're entertainers, but you don't get the best out of people by insisting they're at the ground from 8am till 7pm – that's not really on.

At the end there it was very difficult to see the ball in the field. The guys on the boundary were saying they had almost no chance of seeing it once it went between the stands and the lights. I had a chat with Venkat about it – quiet, reasonable stuff, no arm-waving! - and he told me that there's nothing in the regulations that allows them to stop play because the fielding side can't see the ball properly. I said that I thought it should be fair for both sides, and he said he'd mention that in his report to the ICC.

Apart from the fact that it finished in the dark the other thing about the last session was that it was very long – over three hours, I think. At the start of the series we were told that you couldn't schedule a session for longer than two-and-a-half hours, but that goes out of the window when you're making up time and the overs haven't been bowled too quickly.

I thought our bowling was all right today. We didn't quite get the right length with the new ball, and we probably bowled a bit wide to Astle when he was teeing off. But I can't fault the bowlers, they were full of heart and kept running in.

So it looks as if we'll be batting first thing tomorrow and chasing 300-odd in about 100 overs. I never try to guess what the opposition captain will do, but it would be odd if he didn't declare overnight, or very early on tomorrow.

The big threat, as usual, will be the new ball. It's done a bit early on all the time here – and we'll be starting earlier than usual, at 10am, which won't help. The good news is that the pitch is certainly playing better than it did the other evening, although the odd one is moving a lot – like the one that got Parore out.

We are up against it, to be honest. But our approach tomorrow will have to be positive. No-one in this game who has just stood there and defended has got many runs, so there's no point just pushing and prodding. The first thing we have to do is see off that new ball – we could do without being 0 for 2 in the first over again ...

Nasser Hussain was talking to Steven Lynch. His thoughts appear on Wisden.com, other duties permitting, at the end of each day of the Test series.

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