ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the third day of the first Test between New Zealand and Pakistan in Hamilton
Andrew Fernando at Seddon Park09-Jan-2011Collapse of the day
In a series with two teams infamous for capitulating, New Zealand produced a top-order collapse that even Pakistan might struggle to match for the remainder of the tour. Trailing by 56, Tim McIntosh began the slide for the hosts, running down the track past a gentle straighter one to get himself stumped, minutes before Brendon McCullum followed him to the pavilion. Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson were all out in a hurry and Daniel Vettori’s dismissal put the icing on the cake for the visitors. Within the space of an hour, New Zealand had lost seven wickets for 35 runs.Shackle-breaking slog of the day Part I
Pakistan’s overnight pair of Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq had been tied down by a disciplined new-ball spell when Shafiq decided he had had enough, midway through the ninth over of the day. Tim Southee banged one in short when Shafiq had expected a length delivery outside off, but the batsman wasn’t about to pull out of the shot and ended up performing an ungainly half pirouette suspended in the air, all while getting enough bat on it to send the ball to the square-leg fence.Shackle-breaking slog of the day Part II
Abdur Rehman had batted out 30 deliveries without scoring, before he too decided that enough was enough. Rehman advanced down the track and tonked Daniel Vettori back over his head for six, and followed up the stroke with a four and a six.Steven Finn impression of the day
Graeme Swann believes the reason Steven Finn falls over in his follow-through is because his large nose puts him off balance. Tim Southee though, a tall right-arm bowler of a less nasally-gifted variety, couldn’t claim the same handicap when he took a tumble in the last over of his first spell on day three. Too much hair product in that impeccably maintained mane perhaps?Drop of the day
They say there are no easy catches in the slips, but perhaps after having seen this opportunity from Rehman just after lunch, they might change their minds. Rehman flashed at a wide one off Brent Arnel and the ball travelled directly into the lap of Taylor at second slip, where New Zealand’s overnight millionaire promptly failed to get any more than a finger on it. As easy a slip catch as he will ever get.Shot of the day
Pakistan’s specialist batsmen might have thrilled the Hamilton crowd with sparkling shot-making, but it was their No.10 who provided the most graceful stroke of the innings. Faced with a full wide one from Southee, Tanvir Ahmed dropped one knee and caressed it smoothly through the covers with all the elegance of a right-handed Kumar Sangakkara. Two balls later, he repeated the stroke, this time with a level of class and finesse more befitting of a tailender.Test century of the day
New Zealand fans had little to cheer about when Chris Martin came to the crease at 96 for nine, but he was soon to give them the only positive in an otherwise disheartening day. Three runs short of his 100 career runs, Martin blocked out his first two deliveries, before casually stroking the third through the covers to complete his ton. The crowd rose to its feet to applaud the spectacular feat as their hero pottered about shyly at the non-striker’s end.