Parore gets his milestone just in time

Retiring New Zealand wicket-keeper Adam Parore achieved the goal that he has always targeted, reaching 200 wicket-keeping dismissals when taking one of the key wickets for New Zealand in their 78-run win over England in Auckland today.

Parore caught Graham Thorpe, double century maker in the first Test, for four runs off Daryl Tuffey's bowling.

It was an important milestone in terms of wicket-keeping and he had been stuttering his way towards it through the series.

It had been nice to finally get the dismissal so that he could get on and enjoy the day.

The people who are on the list ahead of him had always been his heroes since he had been a child.

"I used to read about them in books and watch them on videos," he said.

Inevitably, he was asked about the appeal from Andrew Flintoff in the first innings when replays showed the ball was nowhere near the bat.

"I heard a sound and appealed.

"We've had nine caught behinds given not out that were definitely out this summer. You get some freebies and some go against you, that's the game. If the umpire turns one down I don't blame the batsman for not walking off the ground.

"It's got nothing to do with us, the umpires make the decision and you live by it. Some go your way, some don't," he said.

On reflection, Parore said that starting young had been a good thing but it meant that he was not really a good Test player until about halfway through his career.

Parore did explain a possible reason for the catching problems New Zealand experienced during the series, and which produced the unusual sight today of a reliable fieldsman like Chris Harris completely failing to see a ball coming at him at gully, while Brooke Walker also struggled to see a ball that flew past him at point to the boundary.

He said it was the light at this time of the year, late in the season.

"It is very milky, and a soft light, you have no idea where the ball is when it comes out of that sightscreen [southern end] at you," he said.

As regards his retirement he said there were other things he wanted to do.

"For me the decision was made on a number of levels. It wasn't that I didn't want to play cricket any more, it was just that I wanted to do other things more.

"I would like to have a career in business, not tour, have a family and I'm 31 years of age and got no job, I've got no family and I'm not married.

At the end of my life I always saw myself as people thinking of me as a cricketer.

"It's something I've thought about seriously for five years now," he said, adding that he started to think seriously about last October, it hadn't been a bolt out of the blue.

He ends his career after 78 Tests in which he scored 2865 runs at 26.28 with 197 catches and seven stumpings.