Adam Parore: Bowling stars deserve better

New Zealand will be very disappointed with the state of play after yesterday's fourth day of this test in Dunedin.

A cricket purist anticipating the thrill of a closely fought test will feel the game is quite nicely positioned but it is certainly not the position the Black Caps would have wanted for themselves.

Daniel Vettori's first aim would have been to play Pakistan out of the game, to ensure that only one team could win the match, and they were in a handy position to do that before their third innings batting collapse.

So going into the final day, it will be Pakistan who have the edge, and the greater chance of securing the win on a pitch that doesn't have too many demons.

The late loss of Shane Bond's wicket last night has really turned things Pakistan's way. New Zealand, with a lead of 240-odd, are about 60 runs short of the sort of margin I think they need to make a game of this. And as we all know, Iain O'Brien and Chris Martin are unlikely to give Grant Elliott much time to increase that lead. Elliott will have to go for his shots this morning.

What will be frustrating Vettori and his team is that the same old problems have struck again.

Under John Bracewell, we saw a number of strong positions turn to dust with third-innings problems. And once again, the top-order batting is unreliable, Ross Taylor excepted, leaving Vettori and the other middle-order batters with too much responsibility in scoring runs.

Our top order is a bit young and inexperienced - and it shows. We need top-order batsmen who can score centuries, and we're not getting that. The Pakistani pacemen certainly know how to get some swing and that's one of the things that always makes them a dangerous attack.

I feel we have the right selection from what is available though, and the absence of Jesse Ryder - who would bat at number five in place of Peter Fulton - is a big blow.

Ryder has a lot of special qualities and the amount of runs he has provided so far in a young career, and the way he gets them, is crucial to the hopes of turning this batting lineup into a consistently potent one.

A big talking point during this test, and in the test across the Tasman between Australia and the West Indies, is the new umpire referral system for checking decisions.

Quite frankly, I reckon it is still a bit of a shambles even though there have been long-winded efforts to explain what is going on.

It is still in an experimental stage, I feel, and it will take a year or two for the system to feel comfortable for the umpires, players and spectators.

We are still discovering a few of the ins and outs, and the effect that it will have on how the game is played and appeals conducted.

I played 400 games and yet to be honest, I still can't figure it all out.

A lot of the players would like cricket to go back to how it was in the old days, when all the decisions were made by the umpires.