Paying for a lack of penetration

The inability of New Zealand's opening bowlers to make even the smallest of incisions has hampered their decision to play two spinners. The pitch is starting to turn, but it has happened three wickets and four sessions too late for the Kiwis.

Instead of sweeping through the lower order, Daniel Vettori and Paul Wiseman have had to wear the line-up down. If Chris Martin or James Franklin had made any sort of impact, the spinners could have tried attacking with rocks instead of pebbles. Instead, no wickets fell before lunch on either day.

Australia's innings wobbled in the second session, but by then they already had 445 on the board. Langer, wearing his baggy green and looking like a tired train driver, pulled Vettori to midwicket, and within 20 runs Michael Clarke and Darren Lehmann had followed as well. The top six had fallen and the spinners had shared the spoils evenly, but since the opposition had passed 500, it was impossible to call the make-up of the attack a success.

Australia have found spin to be over-rated at Adelaide. They prefer a battery of fast bowlers to take advantage of the variable bounce. Shane Warne has just one five-for here and only during the last Ashes tour did his ground average drop below 30. This surface, however, offers more than usual and sharper turn is expected tomorrow as the pitch cracks under the extreme heat. The ball appeared to be deviating more and more with every passing over.

The offspinner Wiseman was earmarked to play in this match when New Zealand picked their tour squad, and an already struggling batting order was weakened to accommodate him. The pair bowled in tandem for more than 40 minutes in the first session without incentive against Lehmann and Langer, who is a reluctant six-hitter but still managed twice to launch Wiseman over the fence.

Stephen Fleming set Wiseman's field at a Ganguly pace, but then nothing was happening quickly. Even the captain's arm-waving drifted as he set inner rings with one or two men on the fence. Containment was the buzzword; Australia managed at least 100 runs in each of the first two sessions. When Langer fell, a flicker of enthusiasm returned, and it was sustained by the subsequent dismissals of Clarke and Lehmann. But then Adam Gilchrist walked out.

It is unlikely that either spinner will have much impact - perhaps none at all - in the second innings. Even at the close of the first day's play, Wiseman was using "if" when asked about bowling again. Probably the only opportunity the pair will have towards the end of the match is if Australia decide to give their bowlers a rest between innings. An absence of medium-paced penetration has forced the spinners to toil, and in turn transferred all the pressure to New Zealand's batsmen.