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Wellington compound Canterbury's misery Cricinfo takes a look at the results from round one of New Zealand's 2008-09 domestic State Championship as defending champions Canterbury were condemned to their second defeat of the season in as many games.
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Southee aims for more such days The swing bowler Tim Southee still lives at home on a farm with his family in Northland, but if he keeps performing like this it might soon be the only place he can hide.
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Confused Australia battle identity crisis Australia's batting deficiencies with the moving ball have not been erased
by their return home from India. While the swing and seam was expected and
the Gabba pitch was tricky, the batsmen's thoughts were cluttered and
their shot selection scrambled.
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A storm and a boycott Plays of the day for the first day of the first Test between Australia and New Zealand in Brisbane.
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Southee swings New Zealand into strong position If Australia were expecting an easy follow-up to their tough tour of India, their hopes were dashed by Tim Southee within 40 minutes at the Gabba. A super spell of swing bowling from Southee reduced Australia to 3 for 23 and, despite Michael Clarke's fighting 98, the green-tinged pitch and the discipline of New Zealand's seamers made scoring hard and ensured the visitors finished the day happy.
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Exit not on Hayden's mind yet At 37, Matthew Hayden knows this might be his last Test on his home ground in Brisbane, but he is refusing to outline an exit strategy. Hayden will appear in his 99th game on Thursday and while he remains in the selectors' plans for next year's Ashes, he is being more careful following his recovery from a lingering heel injury before the India series.
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Need at least 300 to compete - Vettori Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, has told his batsmen they must produce a first-innings total of at least 300 to compete with Australia, but the side's output may depend on who wins the toss on Thursday.
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Over-rate still a worry for Australia Expect to see the Australians running faster between overs during the first Test against New Zealand following their costly failure to keep up with the required rate in Nagpur last week.
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McCullum ready for 'vulnerable' opponent New Zealand remain full of hope as they attempt to break a 23-year drought without a Test win in Australia and erase some poor recent results.
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Symonds 'in a great place at the moment' - Clarke Andrew Symonds came back into the squad this week following his off-field rehabilitation and is a strong chance to return to the starting XI against New Zealand on Thursday, despite a lean streak for Queensland
and the strong claims of other players in an out of the side.
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