Black Caps v England: Boult and Southee in swinging unison a treat

Trent Boult and Tim Southee both had the ball swinging at the start of day four but only took one wicket between them in the first session. Photo / AP

This is better than watching Hadlee. Trent Boult and Tim Southee are a magnificent sight, giving us swing bowling to savour from both ends.

By the way, I'm kidding about Sir Richard Hadlee. There has never been anything better than watching the great man bowl. He was two for the price of one, both fast bowler and artist.

And my view of Boult and Southee is distorted - I only seem to last the first sessions before a neck snap and deep sleep arrives. So I missed witnessing the later carnage.

Given the conditions, Hadlee may have destroyed England at Lords, something Boult and Southee were unable to do despite good starts in both innings. The new-ball wizards didn't have the killer touch this time. That is a concern.

Boult and Southee's ability to move the ball had England in real trouble, so it was disappointing waking to the news that England - led by Alastair Cook and the devastating Ben Stokes - had recovered so impressively.

Still, that first session sticks in he mind. We've rarely had two such skilful fast bowlers operating at the same time. Some of our partnerships have been more tactical than brilliant - Hadlee's foil was Ewen Chatfield whose metronome-like accuracy did the job.

On other occasions, a fine bowler like the injury-plagued speedster Shane Bond was something of a lone wolf.

There have been a few excellent swing bowlers in our history, although given our conditions there should have been more. Lance Cairns' whirly inswingers to right handers were almost unplayable now and then. Simon Doull had the art. Way back, Bruce Taylor - the enigmatic all rounder with outstanding test bowling figures - could swing it.

But having a fine swing bowler at each end is a treat. One ball from Boult stood out, and it didn't take a wicket. It began to curl towards the slips and then rocketed back the other way mid pitch, drawing a wonderful reaction from the left handed Cook.

The potential of Boult and Southee in conditions ideal for their strengths made it all the more a disappointing day in the end.