Cricket: Arnel called up but top order batting remains shambles

Brent Arnel. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Northern Districts seamer Brent Arnel will join the New Zealand team in Hobart for the second test this week - but it's not clear how that's going to sort out the top order batting mess.

Arnel, who took eight wickets in last week's Plunket Shield win over Canterbury and four in the Ford Trophy one-dayer yesterday, takes the squad to 14 but any assessment of the Brisbane debacle over the last four days would suggest the bowlers were not the problem.

Captain Ross Taylor insisted New Zealand still felt in the game at the start of yesterday,

"Sometimes early on in your innings you nick balls but we've got to be hard on ourselves," Taylor said.

"We know Australia are going to come hard at us in Tassie [Hobart, venue for the second test starting on Friday] and we need to play a lot better than we did today."

Taylor admitted the axe will be hovering if there's a repeat in Hobart.

"We can't keep putting in performances like that. There's a big summer ahead back home and I guess if we put in another performance like that there will be changes."

Taylor praised the efforts of batsman Dean Brownlie, whose match double of 77 not out and 42 dwarfed those more experienced and higher in the order.

"He didn't commit himself forward early on, played from the crease a lot, and played nice and late.

"The other five batsmen can take a big leaf out of the way Dean plays. He was one of the shining lights out of this game, it was just his second test and he applied himself very well."

Five-wicket hero James Pattinson was chuffed, but laughed off the suggestion he had told friends on Saturday night that he would take a bag of five wickets. "I'm confident, but not that confident," he quipped.

"It hasn't sunk in right now. The selectors picked us knowing we can do a job for them and I'm just happy to have been able to do that."

His older brother Darren played one test for England in 2008, taking two wickets so the family bragging rights are sorted out.

Australian captain Michael Clarke said he had been confident of taking 20 wickets with his attack. "I know we've got the talent. It is now about continuing to improve the consistency as a team."