Adam Parore: Fans come to see runs not wickets tumbling

Nothing I saw at Eden Park yesterday swayed my opinion that New Zealand should win this one-day series against Sri Lanka comfortably.

Pre-game concerns about the pitch proved to be false alarms. That was not the problem for the Sri Lankan batsmen early on. The ball was.

The balls being used in this series are Kookaburras, which have a fairly pronounced seam - that is, they're good for the quicks.

Throw in the fact administrators have never come to grips with developing a white ball which doesn't play tricks early on anyway, the Sri Lankans' unfamiliarity with the ground and overhead conditions and the tourists were always up against it.

I thought before the game, if they batted first they might be 40 for four. I wasn't far off and the seven-wicket margin told about the right story on the respective merits of the sides yesterday. Remember, these are our conditions, and we should be beating most teams here.

I reckon we need to develop a white ball for New Zealand conditions. The seam should ideally be flattened, thus reducing the movement through the air and off the pitch. That should lead to more runs, and therefore a better one-day game for the crowds.

Bowlers won't like it, but a good ODI game is about plenty of runs not a steady procession of batsmen heading back to the dressing room.

Going back to the pitch, yesterday's strip had not been used this season and with Auckland's ordinary weather of the last couple of months, there was a danger that it would be too fresh.

Here's a solution: let both teams have a couple of hours' practice on it the day before. That would take any excess sting out of it. It would be a level playing field, in that both teams would have had a crack on it, and it should help them work out their strategies for match day.

New Zealand bowled well. Daryl Tuffey made a notable return and I thought Kyle Mills, Chris Cairns and Dan Vettori all played their roles impressively. Having a new ball bowler who can take a wicket in the opening over or two is a real bonus for Stephen Fleming.

Tuffey was a bit inconsistent but after his two months away from the national side he'll be better for yesterday's hitout and he certainly adds something to the attack.

There has been plenty of debate about where Fleming should bat, at least in the one-dayers. Simply, he should bat where he wants.

Fleming is our best batsman - he's overtaken Nathan Astle as our premier ODI batsman in my book - and he's the captain, so he should bat where he is most comfortable. You want your best batsman in as early as possible in the shorter game.

On the Sri Lankans, I was intrigued to hear batsman Russel Arnold talking last week in bold terms about what the tourists wanted to achieve here.

This is not normally the way Sri Lanka's players operate. They are more inclined to keep their own counsel. But I liked what I heard. It tells me they are a more confident side than in earlier years. That won't do their cricket any harm.