David Leggat: Cheap taxi if others had shared with Fulton

Peter Fulton has paid the price for a poor performance against Pakistan. Photo / Kenny Rodger

Peter Fulton might have been entitled to scratch his head as he found himself the only New Zealand batsman packing his bags for home yesterday.

Not that the tall Cantabrian could have any reason for feeling hard done by. Rather, there are at least four others among the top six batsmen who could easily have been in the taxi with Fulton, but had won a reprieve for this week's third test against Pakistan.

The batting numbers put up in the first two tests are dreadful, Ross Taylor the notable exception.

Tim McIntosh, Martin Guptill, Daniel Flynn and Grant Elliott have managed to get to the mid-20s once each in four innings.

But the day that is taken as positive affirmation that things are on the up, it will be time to take up beach cricket.

The selectors must have been sorely tempted to be more brutal, rather than introduce only one new face.

Loyalty is admirable, but in this case it must be wearing thin for the selectors, Mark Greatbatch, Glenn Turner and captain Dan Vettori.

Especially Vettori, who is the one out in the middle, usually trying to revive the ailing patient that is the New Zealand innings.

Imagine you are Chris Martin, Shane Bond, Iain O'Brien or Daryl Tuffey, who have given New Zealand's bowling attack teeth against a flaky but marginally better Pakistani batting lineup.

Having dismissed Pakistan for 264 in their first innings at the Basin Reserve last week, Martin and Tuffey were marking out their runups again 36 overs later.

The fast-medium men would have been tempted to throw a giant custard pie across the room at those charged with scoring runs.

At Dunedin in New Zealand's first innings 429, three of the top six contributed just 16; in the second innings 153 there were four ducks among the first seven batsmen.

At Wellington, four runs came from four players in the top seven and only three made double figures as New Zealand were knocked over for 99, like pins in a tenpin alley; and in the second innings 263, chasing 405 on a good batting surface, Guptill, McIntosh, Fulton and Elliott collectively managed 36.

Pakistan's new ball bowlers will fancy their chances at Napier, knowing they have the wood on several batsmen.

Mohammad Asif has been outstanding, with 17 wickets at 15 each in the two tests, operating on a tight off stump line and sweating on edges and lbw opportunities, which have been plentiful given the batsmen's ropy techniques. Left armer Mohammad Aamer, sharper and angling across the righthanders, homing in on the lefthanders' stumps, has had a ball too.

Flynn has been caught at the wicket twice, and lbw twice; McIntosh lbw twice, caught at short leg and bowled - all eight dismissals taken by that pair.

So will McLean Park's friendly batting surface offer a chance for redemption, or will the ticking of the selectorial clock resonate ever louder?