KEY POINTS:
In-form paceman Chris Martin believes New Zealand can shrug off the loss of Jacob Oram at the bowling crease and claw their way back into the second test against Sri Lanka.
Oram pulled up with a hamstring tear after bowling just three overs yesterday morning and is unlikely
to bowl for the remainder of the test, and possibly the first couple of one-day matches as well.
The injury has poured pressure on the balance of New Zealand's bowling attack, but Martin - the pick of the bunch yesterday - said there was still enough firepower to bowl out the Sri Lankans in their second innings.
"I think we've got enough to get them out again," he said. "Dan [Vettori] and Nath [Astle] can do a job into the wind and the rest of us can attack with it.
"Apart from Kumar Sangakkara most of the other guys in that side are struggling at the moment, so there's definitely an opportunity for us."
Oram suffered the hamstring injury and limped from the field just before the lunch interval, leaving an unexpected role for Vettori, who had been complaining about his lack of bowling after receiving just two overs in Christchurch.
Martin, who took the first three wickets to fall, said he couldn't help but admire the class and style of Sangakkara as he stormed to his unbeaten 156, even though the runs were coming at the expense of himself and his team.
"Kumar's playing very well," he said. "It's not great for the team but as a cricket watcher it's quite nice to see. He's in such good touch.
"As a bowler you feel that if you don't have enough heat on the ball or if you don't put it where you want to he'll make you pay.
"He's also good enough to put some of your good balls away; he builds partnerships, he reassesses whenever a wicket falls, and I think that's why he's so good at staying there for so long."
As for NZ's customary top-order batting slump, Martin said several of his teammates were again experiencing difficulties in seeing the ball out of the hand of Lasith Malinga, who took three of the four wickets to fall.
"I know a lot of the batters struggled to pick Malinga," he said. "Maybe the light was affecting things.
"He's a hard guy to pick up anyway, but I think it was particularly hard to see him from the Vance Stand end. He's quick enough without becoming invisible."
Martin believed the Basin Reserve pitch played largely as expected, offering the team bowling first a short window of opportunity and the batting side a few anxious moments before becoming largely benign.
"We've all played in Wellington enough to know there is a crucial first hour in which - if you can land the ball in the right zones - you can pick up wickets.
"It's just doing it consistently enough in the first hour that's the challenge. After that it gets a bit easier for the batters."
