Cricket: Beige bowlers tossing game to Oz

Brent Arnel says New Zealand need two quick wickets this morning to claw their way back into the game. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Unless New Zealand's four-pronged seam attack can find something extra this morning, the home side are in danger of being batted out of this test midway through the second day.

Brent Arnel, who was the pick of the bowlers after day one in taking 2-70, admitted New Zealand needed two quick wickets this morning to have "any chance of progressing in this game".

Despite skipper Daniel Vettori getting what he wanted, first crack on a Basin Reserve wicket that always offers a little movement early, New Zealand's attack had a vanilla look and flavour to it.

It's not like they bowled badly - although Tim Southee will enjoy better days - just blandly.

The four seam-bowling options have not provided Vettori with any greater variety than a three-man pace attack would: all are right-armers, all bowl at a similar pace and all of them can do a little bit off the seam and in the air if the conditions are right.

Get your eye in against one of them and you've pretty much got them all covered.

The shortcomings were laid bare when you consider that Vettori was bowling himself before lunch and even Martin Guptill bowled an over of dross before the second new ball.

With the pitch not getting any harder to bat on, New Zealand's only chance to restrict Australia below 450 would seem to be helpful overhead conditions or Australian ennui - neither are forecast.

Michael Clarke, 100, and Marcus North, 52, have set up camp and have looked utterly untroubled.

The two batsmen supposedly most under pressure - Clarke because of Lara Bingle issues and North because of a lack of runs this summer - combined in an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 140.

"We let ourselves down quite a lot actually," said Arnel of the final session, when New Zealand were caned 153 runs for just one wicket.

"The first two sessions was exactly what we wanted and we were happy with that. We knew going into the third session what we wanted to do and we didn't execute the plans.

"We needed to put pressure on but Clarke and North came out quite positive. They wanted momentum before the second new ball and they got it. We were pretty disappointed."

How must Vettori have wished for a Shane Bond.

As it was, one of the most significant blows of the day was delivered by Bond, even though he was a few time zones away on the subcontinent, resting up from his Indian Premier League debut for Kolkata Knight Riders.

The speedster hit red-hot allrounder Shane Watson on the hip during the Chappell-Hadlee series and the injury was aggravated in the lead-up to the test, meaning a recall for Phil Hughes.

He dashed his way to 20 before flashing at a ball he could have left in Brent Arnel's first over.

Wickets were by no means easy to come by, but a horrible piece of running between the wickets by the barnacle-like Simon Katich enabled BJ Watling to run out Ricky Ponting for 41.

That was the beginning of a good period for New Zealand, with Michael Hussey falling cheaply and Katich eventually extracted for 79 after surviving two dropped catches.

At 176-4, there was an opportunity to expose Australia's middle order.

Clarke and North had other ideas, the former in particular as he laboured over his first 50, then raced to an emotional century in the last over before stumps.

"When I came off at tea I was talking to [batting coach] Justin Langer and I was saying, 'mate, how hard is this game'. He said things would turn around and fortunately they did ... I probably got to a stage when I got to about 80 when I said to Northy, 'I can't stop thinking about my 100'.

"I'm really happy I got there [last night]. I don't think I would have slept too much if I was on 98 or 99."