Cricket: Katich cool and calm as century collected

Simon Katich frustrated New Zealand's bowling attack at Seddon Park yesterday. The Australian left-hander eventually fell for 106. Photo / Christine Cornege

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Save for close friends and family, few people would have "Watch Simon Katich score a test century" high on their bucket list.

With his crab-like shuffle across the crease, he is to batting aesthetics what Black Sabbath is to Brahms - both of them were prolific, too.

Yesterday he ground out test century No 10, an innings that perfectly demonstrated his understanding of the requirements of test cricket.

While Shane Watson was dashing away to 65, Katich was prepared to drop anchor, pushing the occasional single to remind folk he was there, just as he had done in the second innings at Wellington when Phil Hughes blazed his way to an unbeaten 86 as he quietly compiled 18.

He has been a pebble in the plimsolls of the home side - 79, 18 not out, 88 and, yesterday, 106 - compiling 291 runs at a series average of 97, spending more than 16 hours at the crease in the process.

Michael Clarke, Doug Bollinger and Ross Taylor might have stolen more headlines this fortnight, but none can match Katich's consistency.

"I know the limitations of my game," Katich said. "Given that the game was in the balance I didn't want to take any undue risks and made sure I set a platform for the team.

"When you bat at the top of the order it is very easy to think,'Oh yeah, someone else will score the runs', but you've just got to get out there and lay the foundation just in case that doesn't happen."

His 5h 41m of graft yesterday was punctuated by few memorable shots. Even the umpires were taken aback when he hit two boundaries in one over.

"They were joking that I had got ahead of myself ... they said:'Is that the same bloke down there?"'

New Zealand keeper Brendon McCullum would be heartily sick of crouching down behind Katich's unique stance, but acknowledged he was a difficult assignment for any bowler.

"Whilst he moves around the crease a lot his defence is incredibly sound," McCullum said.

"He gets himself into pretty good positions and forces guys to bowl a bit straighter than they'd like to him and he seems to score a lot of his runs on the leg side."

Test batting is an art that can take many forms - New Zealand would have done themselves no harm by watching the way he went about his work this series.