Cricket: Short ball bowling dominates day three

Ross Taylor attempts to play the short ball today against Sri Lanka. Photo / Getty

The short ball reigned at Seddon Park today.

At times the cricket didn't much resemble the game as is known. Frankly there were periods it became tedious.

In both Sri Lanka's second innings and New Zealand's chase for victory the stumps were often irrelevant, more a reference point for the batsmen to take up their stance than under serious threat of being struck by the ball.

The bowlers on both teams figured out on the fresh pitch, using Patamahoe clay for the first time in a test, that there was eye-catching bounce to be had, and went to town.

There were times when you yearned to see a shot off the front foot. Don't blame the bowlers; the philosophy worked, albeit better for one side than the other.

The pitch has been good, and groundsman Karl Johnson will be quietly chuffed at a surface which offered bowlers help throughout three days, but equally was hardly a minefield. The game moved along.

There was both trampoline and steepling bounce, and that may have contributed to several dismissals, wherein batsmen thought they had a short ball covered, only to find it climbed more than anticipated.

The mind went back to watching the likes of John Wright and Bruce Edgar bobbing and weaving against the West Indies speedsters in two home series in the 1980s.

The philosophy then was the Windies quicks could bowl as much short stuff as they liked - and they did - but it wasn't going to get them out.

Take a few blows if need be, but if the ball's not going to hit the stumps it straight away removes one of the main forms of dismissal.

Sri Lanka's side includes several young men trying to find their feet in the test game.

There are opportunities presented by the retirements of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Yesterday was a chance for batsmen to declare they want a long term residency.

However the virus which ran through the Sri Lankans meant every chance to hook had to be taken, or attempted. The scoreboard eloquently shows the result.