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ADELAIDE - Iain O'Brien played down his verbal stoush with Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting but relished a chance to bounce out speedster Brett Lee on a day of hard toil for New Zealand's bowlers.
It was small mercies only for the New Zealand attack on one of the flattest test pitches at the Adelaide Oval, as Australia's total of 535 gave them a daunting first innings lead of 265 on the third day of the second test.
By stumps, openers Aaron Redmond and Jamie How reached 39 without loss as New Zealand required a day-and-a-half at the crease to save a draw.
While captain Daniel Vettori wheeled down 59.4 overs to end with two for 124, consistent paceman O'Brien again led the way in the wickets column with three for 111 off 31.
The effort was more impressive for the fact O'Brien had been feeling lethargic in recent days and blood tests on Friday hadn't revealed anything untoward.
His knack of dismissing good batsmen continued as he removed Ponting for a third innings in a row - not before he'd plundered 79 - and vice-captain Michael Clarke for 110 after he'd notched his ninth test century.
Ponting's wicket was the talking point of Saturday's play when the captain responded to an O'Brien comment after he was caught by Peter Fulton at mid-wicket, then Vettori chimed in with a verbal send-off to his opposite number.
"He didn't quite hear what I said. I said `you've missed out', he didn't hear me and got involved and got fiery, and a couple of our guys got fiery," O'Brien said.
"There was nothing in it. Just a bit of on-field humour."
Clarke and gloveman Brad Haddin, who topscored with 169 for his first test century, added 181 for the sixth wicket to demoralise the New Zealand bowlers before O'Brien snared Clarke to a sharp gully catch by Jesse Ryder.
Then Lee, dropped on nought by Vettori off his own bowling, was given a taste of his own medicine before Ross Taylor grabbed a brilliant one-handed catch at slip.
"I got a couple (of bouncers) here and I got a couple at Brisbane so I thought I would keep going and I picked up a wicket at the end of it," O'Brien said.
"He is a handy batter so it was one of those scenarios that I know I am going to get a couple back so I might as well give him a couple."
O'Brien admitted the pacemen bowled poorly on Saturday when Australia cruised to 241 for three in reply to New Zealand's 270, but he backed his under-fire batsmen to perform today on "a helluva deck to bat on".
The 32-year-old Wellington seamer's three wickets took his tally this year to 30 from eight tests at an impressive average of 20.30, as he cemented his place as test regular.
That places him 15th in the world this year, and of those, only South African Dale Steyn (60 wickets at 19.41, No 1) and England's Ryan Sidebottom (47 at 20.25, No 4) have better averages.
"I want to compete as much as I can. It is a tough day at the office, it can be tough to come out of, but I feel as though I'm doing all right.
"I set some goals before coming here, runs per wicket and I'm under that so I'm pretty happy. I would have liked to have bowled better here but that happens."
- NZPA
