Cricket: Australians take control

Chris Martin, right, and the other NZ bowlers could not contain Brad Haddin and his team-mates. Photo / Getty Images

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The declaration was bold, brutal and realistic by Australian captain Ricky Ponting as the visitors began circling their Black Caps cricketing prey as early as the second session on the second day of the first test in Wellington.

At 459 for 5, having made New Zealand chase leather for 130 overs, Ponting decided he'd had enough of life beyond the boundary rope after the premature end to his first innings via a run out.

Call it mercy, arrogance or a desire to play golf on Tuesday but it worked.

Bolstering the skipper's decision was an arsenal of four fresh bowlers relaxing with their feet up in the dressing room next to him. Only Mitchell Johnson and possibly Nathan Hauritz would have contemplated donning the pads.

Then there was the state of the New Zealanders - looking tired, jaded and, most importantly, vulnerable in the field. It was time to insert them.

"I was a bit surprised by their declaration but we were completely outplayed," said vice-captain Ross Taylor.

"But we did regain some momentum with Martin Guptill and Daniel Vettori's partnership and if we can lose just one wicket in the first session today, we'll be back in the game."

Australian centurion Marcus North suggested the weather forecast played a part in Ponting's decision: "With rain maybe lingering towards the end of the test, I thought it was a great call to move the game forward. We took the momentum we had with the bat and started well with the ball."

The trail of nervous bodies traipsed off to the shed - exactly what Ponting would have predicted - and filed back out one-by-one, ill-prepared for the relentless barrage of aggression and hunger from the Australian attack.

New Zealand batting great Martin Crowe has recently been contracted to come in from time to time to offer advice, particularly on the team's inability to apply themselves over sessions.

He's been working with the players for the past week, and with some over a few months. It remains an unenviable task.

"I can't put my finger on what went wrong," Taylor said.

"You've got to give credit to Australia on the way Ryan Harris and Doug Bollinger bowled at the start.

"Not only did they pick up wickets but they bowled economically. They extracted bounce and sideways movement on what's quite a flat deck. The wicket's not bad enough to be 43 for 4."

Part of the problem is that the Black Caps are victims of a vicious circle. While the bowlers toiled manfully, they could only extract five wickets on a batsman's pitch.

That was admirably demonstrated by the record fifth wicket stand against New Zealand from Michael Clarke and Marcus North to take Australia from 176 for four on Friday to 429 before a late flurry.

Through the equivalent of human osmosis, that weakness and consequent dip in morale then extends to batsmen who have been run ragged chasing and watching balls dispatched to the fence.

That meant New Zealand capitulated on a cocktail of equal parts anxiety, awe and attrition as the semi-daunting total bore down.

Yet it remains a (déjà vu) question why Vettori was able to ease his way to 42 not out and no-one else except Guptill (unbeaten on 19) could offer any genuine resistance as part of the Black Caps stumps score of 108 for 4, a deficit of 351.

At the core of the problem was the top three. With 14 tests between them - and none against Australia - they were foiled by Ponting's plans, toppling into a chasm of their own inexperience with a series of shuffles and stutters.

New Zealand was 31 for 3 and the middle order again exposed before little of the ball's gold lettering had been removed.

First BJ Watling received a golden duck thump on the pads from Bollinger, then Peter Ingram was victim to some exquisite Johnson footwork to effect a run-out. Finally, Tim McIntosh fell to a smart gully catch for Ryan Harris' maiden test wicket.

Taylor fell shortly afterwards in the slip cordon as Bollinger got one to pop.

Guptill was the source of Ponting's one error on what was almost an auto-pilot of a day's captaincy.

The decision to refer a Hauritz appeal for a catch to the third umpire - the first of the match - proved a waste, with the ball flicking his body.

However, it represented the debut of such incidents on the big screen for crowd inspection; matching what viewers get at home.

Already the prospect of the Black Caps gaining a first test win over Australia in 17 seasons seems slim.

The level of improvement required by the time the second test starts on Saturday in Hamilton seems too vast.