Kiwis show grit but same
THE hard work of Brendon McCullum and Daniel Flynn has been undone, with the Black Caps left teetering at tea on day one of the first test against Sri Lanka in Galle last night.
New Zealand went to tea at 155 for 6 off 60.3 overs, with Flynn dismissed for 53 on the last ball of a measured, but ultimately fruitless session for the visitors. Wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk was stranded not out on 9 at the break.
Earlier in the session it had appeared that McCullum (68) and Flynn had laid the base for a Kiwi fightback after the top order failed in the morning dig.
McCullum was particularly impressive, with his 68 featuring a balance of patience and assertion.
He combined with Flynn, who now holds the key to a competitive Kiwi first innings total, to put on 90 for the fourth wicket; a crucial partnership that helped the Black Caps rebound from a stumbling start that saw them 40 for 3 early on.
The steel was there from McCullum and Flynn, though the Kiwi position would have been a lot stronger had spinner Rangana Herath, the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers on a turning pitch, not had Flynn caught by Prasanna Jayawardene, and Franklin (30) trapped leg-before, right before tea.
Martin Guptill (11), Kane Williamson (0) and skipper Ross Taylor (9) all failed to make an impression at the crease in the morning session.
But despite some early hesitancy, the partnership between McCullum and Flynn began to bear fruit against a mixed-bag Sri Lankan bowling line-up.
McCullum was the
more impressive of the two, adjusting to a more measured approach after Taylor nicked the ball onto his stumps off Nuwan Kulasekara.
Two runs would come off his next 29 deliveries McCullum faced, before he removed the shackles with a beautiful cut off Herath, who had 3 for 40 off his 19.3 overs at the break. This brought up 4000 test runs for the former test keeper.
Flynn, who would face 152 balls in his knock, proved an able lieutenant for McCullum, patient enough to see off his first few overs at the crease, but prepared to take care of bad balls when they came his way.
An exquisite drive punched through the covers off a wide delivery by Kulasekara was particularly eye-catching.
After losing the toss and being sent in to bowl, the Sri Lankans would have been delighted by their early inroads into New Zealand’s top order, but were then frustrated by the efforts of McCullum and Flynn.
Flynn began the first afternoon session with a flourish, easing Suraj Randiv away for fours off successive deliveries in the first over after the break.
His batting partner got in on the act in Randiv’s next over, launching the off-spinner over the square leg boundary for six.
McCullum would collect his 24th test 50 off 99 balls, but survived a good shout by Shaminda Eranga not long after, and was lucky that the ball clipped his pads high, and slightly missed his off-stump when he was on 57.
McCullum then decided to take the game to the Sri Lankans, knocking a towering six off Herath before