Cricket: Black Caps coach Gary Stead hopes for assistance from Hagley Oval pitch

Black Caps spinner Ajaz Patel looks on during Sri Lanka's marathon partnership. Photo / Photosport

Black Caps coach Gary Stead is hoping his bowlers will receive more assistance from the Hagley Oval wicket in the second test against Sri Lanka in Christchurch on Boxing Day.

The conditions in Wellington at the Basin Reserve were extremely favourable to the batsmen in the first test, with New Zealand making 578 before Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews batted for 108 overs unbroken to secure a draw in Sri Lanka's second innings of 287-3.

Stead believes New Zealand wickets can sometimes provide too much assistance to batsmen, especially later in test matches.

"We have good wickets here in New Zealand and I would say they're probably more batter-friendly than they are in a lot of other places in the world, and I think getting test wins in New Zealand is difficult. We need to keep looking at ways that we can try to find chances and find opportunities when it's tough.

"What I think we have to make sure at all our grounds is that when you turn up, you genuinely want to consider batting first, because you know the wickets will deteriorate enough on the last day that you don't want to be batting on that day.

"I'm not sure there's that many grounds in New Zealand where you can honestly say that."

Some international coaches are known for asking groundsmen to produce wickets that favour the strengths of their side but Stead doesn't believe that would solve the problem.

"The danger is if you put a real green seamer out there and you get overhead conditions — the test is over in two days.

"The groundsmen at each venue know the very best way to prepare their wicket, so for me to come in and get them to try to change that is dicing with death a little bit, in terms of what you are going to get."

There is hope Hagley Oval will offer more pace and bounce in the wicket. Of the five tests played at the venue, four had a result.

The only exception was a draw earned by Ish Sodhi and Neil Wagner's exceptional rearguard action against England in April.

However, Stead knows his side has to be able to perform regardless of the conditions.

"Our conditions here are unique to this part of the world, and we've been successful here over a long period of time as well. We have to be able to adapt and we have to be able to find ways to take wickets."