Cricket: Black Caps v Sri Lanka - The best and worst from day three of the second test

Henry Nicholls. Photo / Photosport

The best and the worst from day three of the second test between the Black Caps and Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

Stat of the day

28 – The amount of balls it took Colin de Grandhomme to reach 50 – the fastest test 50 by a New Zealander. He broke Tim Southee's record by one ball, and is coming close to stealing Southee's world record for highest test strike rate as well.

Gig of the day

Ajaz Patel had a fun day out at the test, being able to put his feet up until 5.00pm, before coming out and getting through a slew of autographs for the appreciative young kids down on the fine leg boundary. It was Patel's biggest involvement in the test so far, but he should get a chance to take the ball tomorrow.

Windy weather

The wind really picked up at Hagley Oval today, leaving poor Sri Lankan fieldsmen chasing their hats around the park, while the media tent briefly turned into Wild Oats XI, such was the ferocity with which it was blowing around. However, everyone will happily accept the wind when compared to rain, and with no precipitation expected, it should be happy times for the Black Caps bowlers tomorrow.

Fielding fails

Sri Lanka managed to give up five overthrows with a needless throw at the stumps, with the batsman safe and nobody backing up, and then followed it up with a hilarious effort on the fine leg rope, where the boundary rider slid foot-first to make a football-style sliding tackle to save two runs. Effective but probably not the safest option…

Optimist of the day

Goes to an internet commenter who suggested that we could be in for an interesting final day if Sri Lanka can once again bat all day without losing a wicket. That's right – all they need to do is have another historic batting performance, and then come out and do it all again the next day! Easy, really…