Cricket: Test attack make-up remains wide open

By RICHARD BOOCK

PAARL - The New Zealand bowling attack raised as many questions as it answered in the tour match against Boland yesterday.

After a sun-soaked second day, the New Zealanders were comfortably in charge of proceedings following some urgent batting in the first session, and a bowling attack which left the hosts 214 behind on the first innings with one wicket in hand.

New Zealand declared at 403 for five, and at the end of the day, Boland were 189 for nine

The most pressing concern for the tourists, who begin the first test at Bloemfontein next Friday, is finding the best balance of bowlers to take on the Proteas, and things were still about as clear as mud when stumps were pulled yesterday.

On the one hand there were useful performances from allrounder Scott Styris and seamer Chris Martin, while on the other, the twin problems of Daryl Tuffey's struggle for form and Paul Wiseman's badly tweaked left ankle remained with the squad.

Styris continued on from his overnight score of 21 to smash a quickfire 73, then took three wickets to push his case for a test call-up, while Martin also ended the day with three wickets after making the initial inroads into the Boland innings.

The young Canterbury paceman took the first two wickets to fall and added another during his second spell, and in the process making the early running for a berth in the test line-up.

After Mark Richardson had led New Zealand through to their declaration at lunch, with an unbeaten 173, Boland soon found themselves struggling for survival as first Martin and then Styris were rewarded for bowling a tight line and an attacking length.

Styris bowled two of his victims and trapped another in front, while his run-scoring served as a timely reminder that he could possibly make a fist as a batting allrounder in the test: someone who might slot in at No 7 and be used as a change bowler.

Yet, while there would have been some encouragement over his form and that of Martin, the fitness of Wiseman remained in question yesterday, with the offspinner still getting about on crutches and struggling to bear any weight.

Team officials hope to know more about the extent of his injury this morning, but at least were able to watch legspinner Brooke Walker bowl tidily in the afternoon heat, snaring two low-cost wickets during a 17-over assignment.

As for Tuffey, it was another difficult day for the Northern Districts' paceman, who was playing his first match since the one-dayers against Zimbabwe in September, and needed to hit his straps quickly.

Instead, he understandably struggled for rhythm and even looked a shade rusty while taking none for 31 off a dozen overs.

The other bowler striving for a test place is paceman Kerry Walmsley, who celebrated his recall to the New Zealand side with a demanding spell of fast-medium, without having much luck or any tangible success.

He bowled 11 overs at a lively pace and extracted some reasonable bounce from a very flat Boland Park wicket, delivering his chances of a call-up no harm at all.