KEY POINTS:
All the pre-third test talk was of Tim Southee returning to enhance New Zealand's swing bowling strength in anticipated swing-friendly conditions at Trent Bridge.
But Dan Vettori and John Bracewell plumped for the honest toiler Iain O'Brien instead of the gifted but still raw Southee, and they will
have been congratulating themselves after the opening day when O'Brien picked up four wickets in a tidy display.
My mind went back to Edgbaston in 1999. For the first four days of that test, the ball swung all over the place.
On the penultimate afternoon we were dismissed for 107 _ having led by 100 on the first innings _ by Alan Mullally and Andrew Caddick but fancied our chances on the final morning, especially as we had, in Simon Doull, a quality swing bowler.
But that last day the ball barely deviated off the straight and narrow. Why? Who knows. England won by seven wickets.
Vettori was playing in that test and I wonder, amid all the talk of swing at Trent Bridge, if he didn't cast his mind back to that experience _ when our best laid plans didn't quite work out _ and think he might go with the man for all seasons.
You can have occasions when you prepare for a certain situation, but for whatever reason it doesn't happen and you're left high and dry.
O'Brien, who'd done well in the second test any way, was viewed as a kind of safety net and it worked out well for New Zealand. But having had England 86 for five, they let their opponents off the hook. Again.
As with other elements of our play, a pattern is emerging. New Zealand had England on the ropes in the second and third tests in Wellington and Napier last summer, and again at Old Trafford last week.
It rams home the point that we need our best players performing at their collective optimum. Anything less and we drop off the pace.
We seem unable to consistently push home an advantage and this reflects a lack of depth in the bowling.
We are not too far short, but short enough to be struggling to push home against a quality side.
I'm pleased that Gareth Hopkins is getting a run in this test. I've got plenty of time for Hoppy. He's a battler who has had to scrap for every opportunity in his career. He's taken a few kicks along the way and I like that for the simple fact that you can rely on guys who have come up the hard way.
There's no chance he'll be hitting a half volley to cover on 15. When a player like that gets a chance he's inclined to relish every minute and make the most of it.
If McCullum, who is highly gifted and likely to be around for a long time, was not there, Hopkins would be a good, reliable keeper-batsman for New Zealand.
Bad timing, in the sense that McCullum is around right now, means Hopkins' chances are likely to be limited so he'll make the most if it.
Hopefully McCullum's back issues are resolved quickly, although they must be significant to have kept him from donning the gloves in this test.
With wicketkeeping, you're either 100 per cent fit or you are not when it comes to your back. Unfortunately there's no room for the "I'm about 70 per cent but I'll come right in a day or so". The physical strains of the job don't allow for that.
As for the new super-duper trousers? I don't believe that technology plays a significant role in the playing of the game. That is distinct from the technological advances such as Snicko and stump cam. But one man's Gray Nicholls is as good as another's Gunn and Moore, pads are pads and boots are boots, all assessed by the individual players' preference.
I don't think a different brand of trousers, with the potential to provide some extra buffing to the ball, is going to make much of a difference.
But I do reckon the chamois patch in the pants would be good for cleaning the car at the weekend.
