Cricket: Embattled attack finally hits form

Daryl Tuffey ended the innings with 89 career wickets, equal with Lance Cairns. Picture / Brett Phibbs

New Zealand's under-fire bowlers must have imagined they'd woken on a distant planet yesterday after helping to draw first blood in the one-day series against Sri Lanka.

Possibly the most embattled group of sportsmen in the world during the whistle-stop tour of Australia, the New Zealand bowling attack struck back with a vengeance at Eden Park yesterday, in what was their first truly successful day's work for months.

In doing so they played the leading hand in their side's anti-climactic seven-wicket triumph, and continued New Zealand's unparalleled ODI success this year, including 18 wins in their past 21 completed matches.

Just as importantly, the win kept alive New Zealand's hopes of snatching the No 1 ranking from Australia by the end of March, and qualifying for the highly lucrative Super Series against the Rest of the World.

Buoyed by a successful comeback from Daryl Tuffey, a strong start from Kyle Mills and an influential hand from Chris Cairns, New Zealand bowled out an under-prepared Sri Lankan outfit for 141, and were untroubled in eclipsing the target with 17 overs up their sleeve.

It must have seemed a startling contrast for the New Zealand attack, which had been under the cosh from the Australians for the best part of the past month, and had not seen a ball move off the seam since late July.

For most of September and October they were faced with Bangladesh's heart-breaking surfaces, and in Australia they had to contend with an even bigger challenge: similarly flat wickets and some of the world's most aggressive batsmen.

But when they turned up at Eden Park yesterday, the New Zealand bowlers saw a familiar hint of green in the pitch and wasted no time in responding to Stephen Fleming's invitation to make first use of the ball.

Tuffey has already forged a reputation for making a first over strike and was at it again yesterday, trapping a crease-bound Saman Jayantha in front with the third ball of the innings, and gaining an initiative that his team-mates never relinquished.

It's been a long time between drinks for Tuffey, who last played for his country in the Champions Trophy match against the US in September, and was badly missed this month as New Zealand struggled through Australia.

Recalled after demonstrating his form at State Championship level, the big right-armer also removed the Sri Lankan skipper Marvan Atapattu in the fifth over and ended the innings with 89 career wickets, equal with 1980s legend Lance Cairns.

But if Tuffey made the initial inroads, it was Chris Cairns who exploited the opening, mixing up his slower balls and cutters to completely bewilder the Sri Lankan middle-order, and finish with four for 33.

Remarkably, for someone who has now taken 187 career wickets and lies second only to Chris Harris in terms of the New Zealand record, it was just Cairns' third four-wicket bag.

The only slight dampener on proceedings for New Zealand was a back injury suffered by Mills, and the worrying sign of Daniel Vettori being required to bowl only six overs, despite his success in Australia.

Vettori has long insisted that he performs more effectively in overseas conditions, a view supported by his man-of-the-series effort in this month's Chappell-Hadlee Series, and the fact that, two years ago, he bowled just 22 overs in six home ODIs against India.

But on the whole it was another encouraging effort from the New Zealanders, who chased down the total with the minimum of bother, man-of-the-match Fleming leading his side home with an unbeaten 77.

The New Zealand skipper was particularly entitled to feel upbeat, having earlier taken two slips catches of contrasting difficulty, in the process boosting his career total to 110 and moving into fifth place on the all-time list.

* Ian Butler has been released from the Black Caps squad to play for Northern Districts against Wellington in Wellington today in their opening State Shield match but may still come into contention for the second ODI, depending on the outcome of Mills' back injury.

The safest hands

Most career catches in ODIs

156 Mohammad Azharuddin, India

127 Allan Border, Australia

120 Carl Hooper, West Indies

111 Steve Waugh, Australia

110 Stephen Fleming, New Zealand

109 Roshan Mahanama, Sri Lanka

108 Mark Waugh, Australia

105 Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka

105 Jonty Rhodes, South Africa

102 Brian Lara, West Indies