KEY POINTS:
As Tim McIntosh leant on his bat at the non-striker's end during the latter stages of his marathon 268 yesterday, he would have noticed an unmistakable figure standing in the front of the sight-screen at the far end of Eden Park's outer oval.
The blue-shirted, silver-haired man was
Sir Richard Hadlee, whose last duty before stepping down as a national selector will be to pick the touring squad for the forthcoming tour of England.
Whether it was stage fright or just plain fatigue from a stay at the crease that went close to the 10-hour mark, Hadlee didn't get to see the best of McIntosh as Auckland reached a position of strength on the second day of the State Championship match against Canterbury.
Although the elegant, left-handed 28-year-old added a further 72 runs to his overnight score of 196, the timing that served him so well on the first day was largely absent.
No doubt part of the problem was his failing bat, which finally flew to pieces as he holed out to long on to present Leighton Burtt with his fifth wicket.
By then, with Auckland eight down and Azhar Abbas joining him at the crease, McIntosh's hand had been forced. He eschewed the option of attempting to carry his bat, instead attacking in the hope of pushing Auckland closer to 500 and himself within sight of a triple century.
But the chunk of wood that sheared off his bat as he attacked a shortish Burtt delivery signalled the end of his career-best innings. Michael Davidson juggled the catch nervously at long on but eventually held on and the Auckland innings closed at 469 when Andy McKay failed to trouble the scorers.
Burtt ended with career-best figures of 6-108 from 30 overs.
Canterbury's former Black Caps opener Michael Papps' bid for a recall took a nosedive when he was adjudged caught behind for a duck off McKay. Papps would have been hoping to put on a show for Hadlee but it is unlikely his display of petulance at his dismissal would have impressed the great fast bowler.
In fairness to Papps, who had survived an appeal after playing and missing at the previous delivery, there was little - apart from Auckland's vigorous appeal - to suggest he had nicked the ball. But failing to walk when given by umpire Dennis Smith was not a good look and it would be a surprise if Papps' show of dissent wasn't punished.
Another would-be Black Caps tourist, Peter Fulton, fared a little better, making a breezy 28 from 34 balls before being trapped in front by Colin Munro. With Todd Astle having already been removed by Abbas for one, Fulton's departure left Canterbury reeling at 41/3 at tea.
South African JG Myberg (87*) and Shannon Stewart (58*) led Canterbury's post-tea fightback with an unbroken stand of 136 to leave the game nicely poised heading into today's third day.
