Tuffey gives fans the hurry up

Daryl Tuffey snares Wellington opener Matthew Bell leg before yesterday. Picture / Fotopress

As Daryl Tuffey began running in for his first delivery, two spectators were still settling into their Basin Reserve seats.

After his last outing for the Black Caps they may have thought they had plenty of time to get comfortable during a Tuffey opening over.

Not this time.

From the R. A. Vance end, Tuffey's first ball landed on the wicket. Even better, it was a good length, a nice loosener.

The second ball was a bit quicker, pitching outside off stump. There was scattered applause from his Northern Districts' team-mates, but notably Wellington and former New Zealand opening batsman Matthew Bell didn't have to play a shot.

Neither did Bell on the third or fourth balls.

Then a pause in play - a third spectator had arrived and was standing too close to the sightscreen.

Tuffey's fifth ball again landed just outside off-stump, and again, the batsman wasn't forced to play at it.

His sixth was a better test, full and had Bell playing it off his pads.

And so the over was over.

Just six balls. No wides, no overstepping and no runs. A maiden.

It was a far cry from a week ago and that opening one-day over against Australia which, at 14 often excruciating balls, seemed to go on and on for Tuffey, the Black Caps and 20-odd thousand spectators.

But yesterday Tuffey wasn't lying on a couch, being tended by team psychologist Gilbert Enoka.

He was back playing provincial cricket for the Knights on the first day of their four-day State Championship match.

Tuffey got his first wicket in the third over, Bell out leg-before-wicket, and although there was an 11-run sixth over hiccup, he took a tidy one-handed catch off his own bowling an over later.

It took until his 48th delivery to give up his first extra, a no ball.

With the Wellington batting line-up looking limp early on, it was hard to fathom how the competition could prepare any bowler for Australia, but Tuffey said during a break in play he was enjoying himself.

"Everything's going all right. It's been good to get quite a few overs under my belt."

His preparations have been on the golf course, and there's been help from cricketing friend and mentor Simon Doull. He was not shattered by his Eden Park nightmare.

"I think the media made me out to be emotionally distraught, but I've been pretty good actually.

"You learn from games like I had on Saturday. It was just a bad over, and a bad game.

"There's been a bit of fuss made over it. But I'm firing to play, just enjoying it and hopefully getting back into the test side."

At stumps yesterday, ND had dismissed Wellington for 250, with Tuffey taking three wickets for 65 runs, off 22 overs (six maidens) and with five no balls.