Cricket: Aussies not giving up on stalled test

Australia still have hopes of pushing for a result in the second transtasman test, despite the first day's play being abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Already one-nil up in the three match series, the Australians awoke yesterday morning to find Wellington blanketed in a thick fog, with a light drizzle falling, little wind to speak of, and no prospect of play in the immediate future.

But coach John Buchanan said his side were still optimistic about the possibility of posting their seventh consecutive test win, as long as the rain cleared enough to allow at least three days' play.

Speaking after umpires Rudi Koertzen and David Shepherd had officially abandoned the day's play, Buchanan said it would naturally be more difficult to win a shortened test, but well within the bounds of possibility for his team.

"It doesn't look too good [today], but there might be three full days after that," he said yesterday.

"The previous test match was completed in about 345 overs, so if we can get somewhere around 300 overs that still gives us a real opportunity."

Buchanan conceded it was more difficult for Australia to cash in on their apparent superiority over a three-day match, but said they would certainly to attempt to roll New Zealand before they settled for some generous tit-for-tat declarations.

Former Australian skipper Steve Waugh and NZ's Stephen Fleming manufactured a nailbiting finish in the first test at Brisbane in 2000-01, but Buchanan said the tourists would try their hardest to win, before they settled for anything else.

"Our plan will always be to go out and win a game," he said. "If we believe we can get ourselves into a position to win without having another team providing a carrot to do that, then we'll try that first.

"We'd back our skills first before we'd wait on someone else to make an offer to us."

Australia have named their eleven, but New Zealand are waiting on the weather to clear before they reveal their line-up, with most debate surrounding the respective claims of Paul Wiseman and Iain O'Brien.