Adam Parore: Beware a comeback charge in the second half

I'd be ramming home to the New Zealand team this morning that it's an impressive start but they must not let their guard down, after they surprised most pundits with an encouraging batting display at Jade Stadium.

Consider this: It's not inconceivable Australia, given the rate at which they score their runs, will be about level with New Zealand by stumps tonight.

That leaves two days to play and the match tied up at even-stevens.

If New Zealand's players think they're out of danger, they need a swift history lesson.

Australia have punished plenty of teams, including New Zealand, with a strong charge in the second half of tests to achieve wins out of what seemed certain to be draws.

It was a revelation to see Craig Cumming and Hamish Marshall take their chances on the opening day.

Cumming is an interesting cricketer. He has played more than 75 first-class games, has hit 10 centuries, 23 fifties and averages over 36. He's also been around a while and often we find that players who've been playing for several years make a better fist of the international game than youngsters.

For a start you are taking the "wow" factor out. It's not such a big step as it can be for, say, a 19-year-old with a year of first-class cricket behind him.

Cumming is a low-key guy. There's plenty of Glenn Turner about his batting. He is not a natural striker of the ball like Nathan Astle or Stephen Fleming.

He looks disjointed in some of his stroke-play and you invariably find players who've made the top by making full use of limited natural gifts are determined to make every opportunity count.

Andrew Jones was like that in the New Zealand team, Mark Richardson, too. For the ultimate example, think of Australian hero Allan Border. He had no real strengths, but made sure he had no weaknesses either.

Marshall has played 35 ODIs, he knows the culture and he looks as if nothing will fluster him.

If he plays a false shot he seems to have the knack of immediately putting it behind him. It doesn't bug him and prey on his mind. He got to 99 with a false shot flying over the slips. But it didn't faze him or hold him back from hitting a boundary shortly after through point.

A big strength is his ability to play on both feet. Back-foot play is not usually a strength of New Zealand batsmen. Marshall is showing what an asset it is to be comfortable playing back.

Finally, a thought on Richard Boock's conspiracy theory elsewhere on this page over why Ricky Ponting chose to field after winning the toss.

I wouldn't be surprised if the theory holds some weight, that Ponting was miffed at being given an XI he wasn't 100 per cent happy with.

I was staggered by Ponting's decision. Australian teams just don't field first.

That said, Ponting is not the first captain to be hit by the Jade Stadium curse, when the appearance of the pitch lures captains into thinking there's going to be plenty of help for the seamers.

As for leaving Brett Lee out, I wasn't surprised, because that is Australian policy. Don't tamper with what is working, and the McGrath-Gillespie-Kasprowicz combination has not let them down in the past year.

But there are exceptions to every rule. It's fantastic for New Zealand that Lee is not playing.

He had the wood on us in the one-day series. Historically our guys are prone to getting blasted out by real speed; he bowls at a million miles an hour and he's got a heap of wickets. That's a pretty compelling argument for selection - and for breaking an established selection rule.

* Adam Parore is a former New Zealand wicketkeeper