Cricket: Testing time for groundsman, but sun finally shines

Groundsman Karl Johnson had the sunblock on for the first time in three weeks yesterday and there was no happier man in Hamilton.

A day of warm sun and wind has eased concerns about the Westpac Park pitch for the first test between New Zealand and Pakistan starting on Friday, and left Johnson declaring his preparation on track.

A year ago India and New Zealand both failed to top 100 in their first innings and just 507 runs were scored, but the weather was at last playing a kinder part this time.

"At this stage I'm pretty happy considering the rain we've had," Johnson said. "The forecast looks good for the next two to three days."

The former groundsman at New Zealand Cricket's High Performance Centre just outside Christchurch, Johnson has watched around 230mm of rain fall since he started work in Hamilton just three weeks ago.

He also joked about having the added pressure of staying at the house of New Zealand batsman Scott Styris, who was demanding a much-improved surface from the State Championship opener here, which ended in little more than two days.

Johnson had grave concerns at the weekend, with the covers spending more time on the pitch than off.

Yesterday revealed a typically green strip but hard underneath, with a cricket ball hurled into it rebounding to shoulder height.

The ridge at the edge of the wicket block was not an issue.

Johnson's difficult brief from New Zealand coach John Bracewell was to eliminate as much seam movement as possible but provide a bouncy surface which could even be a bat-first option on winning the toss.

"We've advanced the pitch so we can cover ourselves if we lose another day. We could play tomorrow if we needed to, it's pretty hard out there."

The last three test pitches in Hamilton - against Pakistan, Bangladesh and India - have been green seamers caused by a wet build-up, with the captain winning the toss bowling first each time.

The New Zealand camp yesterday largely gave the thumbs-up to Johnson's efforts after their first practice session.

Styris, who scored 0 and 12 for Northern Districts against Auckland in Hamilton, still saw it as a bowl-first wicket, but not as fearful as a year ago.

"KJ's trying his best to take some of that seam out, but with the amount of rain it will probably be tough to do that, certainly on day one," Styris said.

"I've been threatening to kick him out if he doesn't produce something a bit flatter ... especially after the last game here."

Today's forecast is for continued fine weather and light winds.

- NZPA