Level of pre-Test competition questionable

Once again the build up for this Second Test for the Black Caps was a positive one in terms of results but once again I would question the level of competition and its value as pre-test competition for what lay ahead.

Judging by the look of the wicket on the first morning, all expectations were that it would do plenty and be very uncomfortable for the batters.

Personally, I love the first couple of sessions in a test match as teams feel each other out, as nerves are displayed and just for the high level of anticipation held by all at the ground.

Richardson and Spearman did a great job early on but the South African bowling was a little off target and I thought that the Black Caps had been let off the hook a little.

As all quality bowlers do, the South Africans realised their mistakes in their first spells and rectified this with some tight classic test match bowling.

The obvious highlight of the Black Caps first innings was Matt Sinclair's marvellous 150. I was lucky enough to see his maiden 200, then I witnessed him trying to come to grips with the Australians, evolving in Zimbabwe then producing this high quality innings.

What I thought was great about it was his discipline and how hard he worked to score his runs, waiting for the loose ball and putting it away. I was really pleased for him, as this was an excellent learning Test Match innings. I know how hard he worked at his game and his desire to do well and just hope he continues on.

If a couple of the Black Caps could have stayed with Matt, 350-450 was definitely on the cards. Great to see Shayne O'Connor's development with the bat also.

The bowlers managed to get the Black Caps back in the game until that man Boje joined forces with McKenzie to thwart a Kiwi revival.

Boje has had a golden summer and here it just continued. Chris Martin was impressive and looks to have some good potential and these Tests will be invaluable for his learning curve. With a deficit of 60 the onus was on the top order to get there being none down and try and get anything from 250 onwards.

The wicket looked like it got quite variable and made run scoring difficult as timing the ball was hard. With Astle and Richardson together things looked good.

In Test Cricket one bad session can lose you a game and up until here I thought the Black Caps were standing toe to toe with the South Africans until they lost five in a session and put themselves completely out of the game. Credit has to go to the South African bowlers who kept running in, always aggressive.

The Black Caps will be disappointed that they went deep into the game with the South Africans then surrendered somewhat lamely. An unbeatable 2 - 0 lead may mean little motivation for the Black Caps but within the squad is a lot of pride and having been away for 4 1/2 months and this their last game, I'm sure the guys would want to finish on one last positive note.

Lastly a huge congrats to our friends across the Tasman for their new Test record. This Aussie team will go down in history as one of the greatest and they deserve every accolade they receive. Steve Waugh has led this side with great drive and passion and you can see that they just love this game of cricket, so well done guys.