Cricket: New Zealanders climbing into the record books

By Richard Boock

The New Zealand cricketers could be remembered as the country's most successful ever touring side if they can convert their stranglehold on the third test at Manchester.

Should they capitalise on the massive advantage being amassed overnight they will become the only New Zealand team to have won consecutive tests abroad, or to have beaten England twice in the same series.

A win or a draw in the fourth and final test at The Oval would secure a series win against England for only the second time in 13 visits, following the 1-nil success of Jeremy Coney's "Ilford Second XI" in 1986.

And with just a one-dayer against Middlesex and a four-dayer against Essex before The Oval test, Stephen Fleming's '99ers have a chance of becoming the first Kiwi side to emerge from a full tour of England with an unbeaten record against the county sides.

New Zealand were in a virtually unassailable position when they began the fourth day's play at Old Trafford last night after establishing a 200-run first innings lead courtesy of a century from Nathan Astle, a maiden test 50 from Matthew Bell and some strong middle-order form from Craig McMillan and Chris Cairns.

Bell's knock of 83 exceeded by one the total runs he had scored in his previous eight innings, while Astle's fifth test century elevated him into the company of some of New Zealand's most prolific international batsmen.

He has now scored the equal-fifth highest number of test centuries, alongside Bert Sutcliffe and Mark Burgess, and behind John R and John F Reid (6), Bevan Congdon, Glenn Turner and Andrew Jones (7), John Wright (12) and Martin Crowe (17). Fleming, meanwhile, is starting to fashion records of his own.

A win will boost his number of test successes to nine (from 18 tests) - just two shy of Geoff Howarth's record of 11 (from 30) - while another catch will equal the highest number taken by a Kiwi fieldsman in tests.

Before play began last night Fleming had 70 catches, one fewer than Martin Crowe's record of 71.

Fleming is also creating a fascinating record of success against England since taking over the New Zealand captaincy against Alec Stewart's 1996-97 tourists at Christchurch.

Since then New Zealand has led England by at least 100 runs on the first innings in all four tests played, including a lead of 200 in this match - only the third time in 81 tests that the Kiwis have dominated to such an extent.

England, on the other hand, are facing fortunes of a dramatically different nature.

Their first innings' total of 199 was the 12th occasion in the past 23 tests in which they have failed to reach 200 batting first, and they would need to rewind their highlights' tape back to the first test of last summer's Ashes series (eight tests ago) to find a first innings worth more than 300.

On top of that, their bowlers have begun to look just as ineffective as their batsmen, with the seamers struggling to perform in helpful, overcast conditions, and the spinners proving mostly harmless on a surface which was expected to turn.

They are unlikely to be allowed to forget, either - should they lose this series - their new position on the Wisden Monthly magazine's World Test Championship Table. Last.