North’s form in the baggy green wasn’t any better, scoring 207 runs at 23.00 in six home Tests.

His three centuries in 13 Tests showed he could match it with the best international attacks, but he just hadn’t been showing it lately.

However some tutelage this week from assistant coach Justin Langer and captain Ricky Ponting helped get North in the right frame of mind.

Resuming on Saturday on 52, North put aside his form struggles with a stylish five-hour knock of 112.

The West Australian hit 11 fours and two sixes and his 253-run partnership with Michael Clarke (168) was a fifth-wicket record for Australia against New Zealand.

“Walking into a Test match under the pump isn’t easy,” North said on Saturday.

“I was more proud of the fact that I came in and made the most of my start on a pretty good batting wicket.

“The selectors have backed me and picked me for this Test.

“Without doubt the pressure was there and when you haven’t made a lot of runs in the last couple of months, there is a lot of speculation about your position.

“It’s not a great feeling but you have to try and use the experience to motivate and focus on the job at hand.”

North said he spent this week working on a few subtle changes.

“Just my eyes weren’t as level as I thought they were and it enabled me to access the ball a bit better and play straight down the ground,” he said.

“It was something small but at this level it’s one of those little things that can make a big difference.”

North said the constant media speculation over his Test spot was “part of the gig”.

“When you’re representing your country at any elite sport there’s people – press, public – who are entitled to their opinion,” said North, 30.

“It was a learning experience for me, playing for Western Australia for a long period of time and never had my spot questioned.

“To get that over the last couple of months is something that I’ve had to deal with.

“Until it actually happens to you, you learn how to deal with it.

“It’s been an interesting process but it’s nice to be at the other end of it.”

Roaring Hot

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The Black Caps were 4-108 at stumps on Saturday at Wellington’s Basin Reserve in reply to Australia’s first innings of 5-459 declared.

Marcus North capped his return to form with an unbeaten 112 for Australia, sharing a record partnership of 253 with Michael Clarke, who made a career-best 168.

Bollinger’s inswinger trapped opener Bradley-John Watling lbw for a first-ball duck.

New Zealand’s hopes suffered another blow when paceman Mitchell Johnson soccered the ball in his follow-through to run out Peter Ingram (5).

Debutant Ryan Harris leapt with delight after taking his first Test scalp as opener Tim McIntosh (9) was caught at gully.

Bollinger’s second wicket came when Taylor (21) was caught at third slip by North at 4-43.

Skipper Daniel Vettori (42 not out) and Martin Guptill (19 not out) added 65 for the fifth wicket in a determined effort.

Australia had resumed on 4-316.

Clarke’s six-hour display ended when he charged the bowling of spinner Vettori and was stumped down leg-side with Australia’s score on 5-429.

The vice-captain’s 14th hundred and highest Test score came in dramatic circumstances following last week’s rushed trip home to Sydney, during which Clarke announced he had split with ex-fiancee and celebrity model Lara Bingle.

Clarke hit 22 fours and two sixes, driving through cover in grand style.

North and Clarke beat the previous fifth-wicket partnership record for Australia against New Zealand of 213 set by Greg Ritchie and Greg Matthews in Wellington in 1985-86.

North reached his fourth century in his 14th Test with a hook to the fine-leg boundary and the West Australian punched the air with delight.

The left-hander’s classy five-hour knock came after he had scored just 207 runs at 23.00 in six home Tests this summer.

With his Test spot on the line, North hit 11 fours and two sixes from 208 deliveries. Brad Haddin was 11 not out.

The Bushrangers set Queensland a monstrous victory target of 640 after amassing 8-591 in their second innings on day four before declaring an end to the highest third-innings total in a competition final.

David Hussey (168) spanked a century in a second successive final, skipper Cameron White made 89 and Aaron Finch 63 after openers Rob Quiney (73) and Nick Jewell (70) turned the match the home side’s way on Friday.

Victoria’s unbeatable position means they will claim back-to-back titles for the first time in three decades, as the Bulls (0-29) still need a whopping 611 more.

Hussey said Victoria had done what was required by posting a huge third-innings score after they were 6-75 on day one.

“I’m very happy with 611 runs left to go in a day and still a bit nervous to be honest – cricket’s a funny game,” he said.

“Hopefully (we take) a few more wickets before a decent crowd, hopefully the crowd can come and turn it on, and we can win the game tomorrow.”

This final was an arm wrestle over the first two days, but on Saturday became another run-fest, as Victoria hit 318 runs to all parts.

That continued the trend between these sides – which are playing their sixth final in 11 seasons – where the home team amasses a huge score to ensure they cannot be beaten.

The Bushrangers could at least go a step better on Sunday than last year’s final, when Queensland held out for a draw.

The one-sided match will help in Cricket Australia’s push to scrap the Shield final to accommodate more Twenty20.

Victoria’s batting intent was so merciless they sent in injured paceman Damien Wright (hamstring) with a runner when the lead was over 600.

Hussey said he was happy to bat a long time given Queensland amassed 6-900 in the final four years ago.

“It was definitely a long time. It was 240 overs we had to field for, so it’s definitely stuck in the memory bank,” he said.

The highlight on a long day for Queensland was the effort of 20-year-old legspinner Cameron Boyce, who took 6-181 from 44 overs in his second first-class game and first visit to the MCG.

“I’d trade it all for a win, but taking six at the MCG is pretty unreal,” he said.

Victoria are hopeful legspinner Bryce McGain will be a factor on Sunday, but Boyce said Queensland had no plans to roll over.

“I’ve only been in the team for five games now but every one I’ve played in we’ve fought hard right to the end, so we’ll just go out there and fight hard,” he said.

Queensland were a bowler short because of James Hopes’ calf injury, while Victoria will be without Wright on Sunday.

The target Victoria set Queensland was steeper than the 593 they set on the final day in last season’s final.

Some time during the very slow period of play during the Test at Wellington, when Simon Katich and Michael Clarke seemed becalmed, I heard one of the good old boys at the Basin Reserve say to a weather-beaten mate: “They’re batting as if they’re Kiwi batsmen.”

It was very slow batting. There was a succession of maiden overs.

Clarke took something like 16 balls to get off the mark. The pop-gun New Zealand attack looked like models of consistent line and length.

But just before and after the afternoon tea break, Clarke came out and started to hammer the attack. Daniel Vittori was smashed for a couple of sixes, and the other bowlers were belted all around the field.

This was batting, especially from Clarke, of the highest order. Here was a player who had come into the Test with his private life exposed in the cruelest way for a young man trying – and failing, this time – to establish a life-time relationship.

Cricket is a hard enough game psychologically on the field, especially for batsmen who endure a one-strike and you’re out syndrome, without a player having to endure off field psychologically draining melodramas in their private life.

Some Australian dignitaries I was with at the ground left the dining room when Clarke came into bat to see what sort of reception he’d get from the crowd. It seemed to us that the crowd seemed to be good-humouredly on his side, even though he was playing for the enemy.

There is a lovely, casual elegance about Clarke’s play, a rapier-like quality in style, as opposed to, say, Ricky Ponting’s broadsword bludgeoning play. And this elegance tends to mask the fact that Clarke, like Mark Waugh, is a tough-minded batsmen who just happens to look somewhat carefree in his approach.

Clarke, with the help of the sturdy, full-faced batting of Marcus North, has put Australia in a winning position at the end of the first day by playing a terrific innings, one of his best in Test cricket.

Like all great Test innings, it was a triumph of style and character under difficult circumstances.

Having watched Clarke win his battle against the New Zealand bowlers, and any inner demons working at his mind, I find myself agreeing with a post on The Roar yesterday by Dave Sygall that Clarke has consolidated his position as Ricky Ponting’s natural successor as captain of the Australian Test side.

While generally a player will tell reporters he doesn’t read the papers and couldn’t care less what they say, Clarke is quick to admit the extensive coverage of his broken engagement to bikini model Lara Bingle has been on his radar.

Clarke had gone home to Sydney halfway through the one-day series against New Zealand to be with Bingle, who was dealing with a nude-photo scandal.

After announcing his engagement with Bingle was off on Friday, Clarke returned to Wellington on Monday and threw himself into preparing for the first Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve.

And in a fairytale performance, the 28-year-old scored 100 not out and celebrated in grand fashion, kissing his Australian helmet and waving his bat in the air.

“I’d be lying to say I haven’t read or I haven’t watched the television or the news and stuff,” Clarke said.

“I’ve seen it. I understand that you guys have a job to do.

“Me being a professional athlete, it’s not just about what I do on the field it’s off the field as well.

“Lara has copped a lot of criticism over the last couple of weeks and it takes a very strong woman to be able to handle that.

“It’s respect to her and it’s respect to my team-mates to give me the time away I needed and then the opportunity to come back and make me feel so welcome back in the team.”

Clarke, who struggled to nine not out from 45 balls at tea before blossoming in the final session, shared a 140-run partnership with Marcus North (52 not out) in Australia’s 4-316.

“It’s a very special feeling any time you make a hundred but it’s been a tough couple of weeks,” Clarke said.

“The support I’ve had from family, friends, teammates – I’ve spoken to you guys about not wanting to talk about my personal life but the support I’ve had from Lara as well has been tremendous.

“Without her and her support I certainly wouldn’t have been back over here. To my family and friends that have supported me and Lara, I thank them very much.”

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It is an idea that has been brought up by Cricket Australia, in order to increase the amount of people taking interest in domestic cricket.

But since when has cricket become about the money and not about the entertainment of watching a batsman fight for a win against all odds?

Or of a bowling side battling to take that last wicket to win them a match?

The Sheffield Shield final gives young Australian cricketers the opportunity to play cricket over the length of a Test match against the best team in Australia other than their own, which for many is the closest they will get to wearing the baggy green.

Sure, increasing the Twenty20 competition brings in more money, and you can pay players more and bring in players from overseas, but seeing Cricket Australia has a ‘priority’ for Test match cricket, there are more important things than this ‘hit and giggle’ cricket.

We want to prepare our cricketers for the world stage, to be the best Test nation in the world, and without the final, they lose the opportunity to play under the pressure and potentially will get called up unprepared for what they will have to go through.

Take, for example, Sir Donald Bradman, a household name in Australia and the greatest batsman ever to play the game. Back when he played cricket, he didn’t have one day internationals or Twenty20, and that didn’t stop the fans coming in or himself from giving his all.

Where has all this gone?

A true love for a great sport has now turned into a lust for a bit of quick fun.

Michael Clarke will lead Australia when Ricky Ponting retires and will finish his career as a respected and successful skipper. The chaos of the past couple of weeks will not hinder this in any way. Rather, it genuinely begins Clarke’s path to the post of captain.

Just like Ricky Ponting’s wake up call came at the end of an ugly night out in Kings Cross all those years ago, Clarke’s came during the debacle that followed his decision to return from New Zealand to deal with problems in his relationship.

The factors were different, but the results will be similar.

Both Ponting and Clarke were identified from a very young age as outstanding cricketers. Neither will work a day in his life. Both will finish their careers as late-30 somethings with millions of dollars and the rest of their lives to do as they please.

The flipside to that privilege is a disconnection from reality, no matter how one might try to keep one’s feet on the ground.

Ponting had little comprehension of his responsibilities as a young batsman in the Australian team when he copped a black eye that night at the Cross.

Clarke, too, has been living in a dreamworld since the age of 23, when he scored 151 on debut in Bangalore.

I spoke to Clarke when he was on the way home after that knock. He was innocent, gleeful, cracking jokes, telling stories and laughing like a kid in a toy store. He was always supremely confident and friendly.

But after living in the barely sustainable goldfish bowl of the Australian cricket team, being adored, feted, mollycoddled and paid a fortune – especially during a period of unprecedented controversy and greed in the game – things finally got out of hand. A reality check was inevitable.

And it has arrived.

Clarke was warned that his relationship with Lara Bingle would become a sideshow. He was happy to go with it. But if you are famous and keen to show off your private life when all’s going well, you can’t expect to shut the door when things turn awry and demand everyone accept your behest.

Australian team media manager Lachy Patterson’s decree to a throng of educated and experienced journalists at Clarke’s media conference on Wednesday that if the wrong questions get asked ‘‘we’ll walk away’’ was embarassing. Clarke should have answered questions.

And he certainly didn’t need a media manager to hold his hand.

Sure, you can’t help love. And, he really did love Lara. But Clarke was also warned that buying a $6 million penthouse right on Bondi Beach (with huge windows) was hardly going to afford him privacy.

He could have helped that.

He didn’t have to get tattoos, advertise underpants or buy a ferrari (which his manager strongly advised him to sell straight away, advice Clarke acted upon).

He didn’t have to organise his engagement party on the same night as the NSW presentation, nor flaunt expensive diamonds and cars, nor get into fights with teammates, all of which have made people question what this bloke is all about.

You suspect Clarke won’t make such poor decisions again after what he’s just been through. You would hope that he’d settle down and begin a new chapter in his career, exhibiting the type of maturity needed to become a respected and admired public figure.

You would anticipate that people like Ponting and Clarke rarely make mistakes twice. They learn, perfect and move on.

Australians forgive those who screw up but get up, dust themselves off and get on with the job. Clarke will do just that and he will be applauded for keeping his dignity during this ordeal, irrespective of whether it was he who invited it.

He has nothing to apologise for, but hopefully will learn more about humility and class.

You would hope that this will be the corner around which he turns from wide-eyed youngster living the fantasy, to a respectable, measured and learned leader fit to lead the nation’s most famous sporting team.

Ponting says talented NSW youngster Steven Smith, who is also in Australia’s squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand, will just have to wait a little longer.

North has scored only 294 runs at 24.50 in Shield cricket this summer and averaged 10.25 in the summer Test series at home against Pakistan.

“There’s no doubt that he’s probably feeling a bit of the pressure,” Ponting said at Wellington’s Basin Reserve ahead of Friday’s first Test.

“I’ve done a lot of work with him actually, one-on-one stuff the last couple of days.

“That (pressure) probably explains why his form in the last half of the Shield season probably hasn’t been as strong as he would have liked.

“Just that expectation I guess and that pressure that was more spoken about in the media than anywhere else.

“I know he was disappointed to let a couple of opportunities slip in the summer but you look at what he’d done in the Test matches before that in England and in South Africa (scoring three hundreds), he just looked like a Test player that was going to be about for a long time.

“I will continue to get some work done with him and talk about his games but just what I’ve seen the last couple of days I am pretty confident that he will have a good Test match here.”

Australia will also gamble on a player with no Test experience, only one first-class game behind him this summer and a query over his fitness.

Queensland pace bowler Ryan Harris, who has been suffering from a side-muscle strain, is set to open the bowling at Wellington’s Basin Reserve with Doug Bollinger.

Harris has been in sensational form at one-day international level with 29 wickets at 15.51 in 12 matches.

But a knee injury restricted the 30-year-old to just one Shield game for the Bulls this summer before a series of eye-catching performances in the ODI tournaments against West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand.

Victoria’s one-Test player Clint McKay is also in Wellington vying for the spot left vacant two months ago by Peter Siddle’s back injury.

“Ryan will play if he gets through as well as we want him to today and we’ll wait and see how he wakes up in the morning,” Ponting said.

McKay would be handy on a Basin Reserve pitch which Ponting expects to offer good bounce and carry for the quick bowlers.

However Ponting says the form of Harris with the new ball has been difficult to overlook in the ODI matches.

“He is a guy who can genuinely swing the ball at brisk pace,” Ponting said.

Ponting said Michael Clarke was in good shape mentally for the two-Test series despite a massive disruption last week when he went home to Sydney and broke off his engagement to model Lara Bingle.

South African Jacques Kallis thumped 44 runs from 34 balls and fellow opener Manish Pandey 42 from 30 as the home side won with 56 balls remaining, just the third 10-wicket victory in IPL history.

Earlier, the Royals were all out for 92 in 19.5 overs led by YK Pathan’s 26 from 24.

Captain Warne managed just four runs from seven balls while fellow Australian former Test player Damien Martyn hit 19 from 24.

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A storm of driving wind and rain hit Wellington a couple days ago and fieldsmen at the Basin Reserve for the New Zealand-Australia Test can expect stinging hands if they are unfortunate enough to have to catch a hot chance.

I was chatting to an old cricket hand who said to me that both teams would need a couple of work-horse bowlers to battle away into the wind. I nominated Nathan Hauritz as one of the Australians. But we couldn’t think of anyone else, unless poor Dougie Bollinger was co-opted into this unforgiving role.

The New Zealand side, now that Shane Bond has given away Test cricket, is full of medium-pace bowlers, Chris Martin being the best of them, who can labour away into the wind.

But even if Daniel Vettori, another into the wind specialist, can pick up a bag of wickets, it’s hard to see this mediocre New Zealand bowling side picking up the 20 wickets needed to win the Test.

The fact is that, on and off the field, New Zealand cricket is in a mess.

The Test side has won only three of its last 20 Tests, and Australia hasn’t been defeated by them in a Test series since the golden days of the early 1990s.

The chairman of selectors, the rather testy Glenn Turner, has been told he can’t talk to the media. Apparently he has been too out-spoken about the failings of the administration and the players.

Mark Greatbach, the media voice of the team, has been promoted to the batting coach position and he has immediately co-opted Martin Crowe to help him turn a set of mediocre batsmen into quality Test players. This raises the question of why Greatbach has been appointed in the first place.

Crowe, who can be just as cranky as Turner when talking about cricket in New Zealand, was forced out of his television broadcasting role (a pity, I thought, because he has interesting things to say) by officials from New Zealand Cricket.

There is a very good young player, Kerin Williamson, who some think should be promoted right now into the Test side. He’s 19 and in his last first class match scored 190 or so and then took five wickets. Perhaps he might get a chance if New Zealand does poorly in the opening Test.

Right now, though, about the only thing New Zealand might have going for it was the Michael Clarke-Lara Bingle business.

There was potential here for the Australians to be disrupted. But Clarke gave a polished media statement, taking no questions, which seemed to appease the easily-pleased New Zealand media.

And then Chris Martin, speaking for the New Zealand cricketers, said that Clarke was such a good chap they’d be reluctant to sledge him over the messy brouhaha.

This seeming gentility (which is unlikely to be reciprocated by the spectators, who will need something to warm themselves up) gets to the heart of the New Zealand problem when it comes to playing and winning cricket matches.

As the ODI demonstrated, and is now confirmed by the approach being taken to Clarke, New Zealand cricketers lack the killer instinct.

Does anyone believe that if the boot were on the other foot and it was, say, Daniel Vettori who was being chased by the celebrity media over an alleged tempestuous private life, Ricky Ponting and co wouldn’t be sledging him mercilessly?

Australian paceman Dirk Nannes was the most economical of the beleaguered Delhi bowlers, finishing with figures of 0-35 off his four overs.

Delhi struggled to keep up with the required run rate thanks largely to some tight bowling from West Indian pair Kieron Pollard (1-24) and Dwayne Bravo (2-11) as well as Sri Lankan allrounder Sanath Jayasuriya who took 2-17.

A quickfire 24 from Virender Sehwag was the highlight of the Daredevils’ innings as they lost their last six wickets for 41 runs to slump to 120 all out with 21 balls remaining.

“I’m sure I’ll get a little bit of stick. I don’t mind that,” the Australian vice-captain told a press conference at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium on Wednesday.

But Clarke is tough enough to handle it, according to Australian assistant coach Justin Langer.

“I’ve never been through what he’s been through, thankfully,” Langer said.

“If he sat around in his room and kept thinking too much, it could become a really hard time for him.

“But what I know, from a cricket point of view, which is all I’m interested in, he’s been very proactive in his approach to this Test match.

“He’s hitting a lot of balls, he’s doing a bit of running, he’s listening to his music — all the things he needs to do, he’s doing them.

“He could easily mope around but he’s not doing that. I really admire him for doing everything he needs to do to prepare for this Test match.

“He’s Australian vice-captain, they don’t hand that out.”

Clarke said on-field banter wouldn’t affect him much.

“I’ve copped a fair bit of sledging in my time, whether it be about stuff on the field or off the field,” he said.

“I have the utmost respect for the New Zealand guys and I’m sure they’re the same.”

Clarke has relied on support from former team-mate Shane Warne to help him through a dramatic week.

“It’s easy (to be positive) when you’ve got great friends around you,” Clarke said.

“I have spoken to Warnie. He has been a wonderful friend of mine for a long time and he’s excited to see me back in New Zealand he has wished me all the best for Friday’s Test match.”

Clarke has endured a media frenzy since March 8 when he quit Australia’s one-day series in New Zealand with three matches remaining.

The 28-year-old rushed home to Sydney to see Bingle, who was attempting to deal with a nude-photo scandal. Gossip columns overflowed with speculation about their pair’s relationship.

Clarke announced last Friday the celebrity couple’s engagement was off.

An upbeat Clarke smiled for the cameras on Wednesday, saying that as a professional athlete he accepts the intense media interest in his private life.

Langer says his former Test team-mate has returned to New Zealand with a steely resolve and he has shown already in his 58-Test career he can deal with personal setbacks.

“When he came back to the West Indies (in 2008), he’d stayed in Australia for Lara’s dad’s funeral, he got a hundred when he came back,” Langer said.

“His feet were dancing in the nets this morning like they were before the Test in Tassie, when he got a hundred (in January against Pakistan).

“He seems hungry, I’m looking forward to watching him bat this Test.”

Langer also says he expects his fellow West Australian Marcus North to retain his Test spot at No.6 despite the good Shield form of young NSW all-rounder Steve Smith.

South Australia seamer Peter George has been added as cover for Ryan Harris, who has left-side soreness but is expected to be fit to train on Thursday.

Media were invited to get to the ground “early” to assist preparations for Clarke’s 10.30am press conference out on the field.

The media pack of about 50 was led out by team media manager Lachy Patterson.

After a few minutes of waiting around for the star’s arrival, out came Clarke flanked by a big bloke with a bikie moustache and sunglasses, who turned out to be Test selector and former pace bowler Merv Hughes.

On his other side was team manager Steve Bernard, another former fast bowler at state level for NSW, and Patterson.

The ominous body language of big Merv set the tone early like he used to on the field with a bouncer followed up by a menacing glare.

Patterson politely asked journalists to stay calm and show some courtesy.

“As soon as it starts getting out of control we will walk off, so please be careful with how you ask a question,” he said.

A six-minute press conference followed, with Clarke smiling constantly and only really looking slightly uncomfortable when asked if he was still on speaking terms with bikini model Lara Bingle.

The celebrity couple ended their engagement last week, amid enormous media interest back home in Australia.

Clarke spent last week in Sydney and missed Australia’s last three games in the five-match series of one-day internationals against New Zealand, but was back in Wellington on Monday in preparation for Friday’s first Test at the Basin Reserve.

And that’s where his focus lies at the moment.

But is he on speaking terms with Lara?

“I’m not going to comment on my personal life, I’m very sorry,” Clarke said.

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Still growing into his 202cm frame at 23, George’s overall first-class record of 56 wickets at 31.05 pales next to the 17 at 13.76 he has harvested from two Sheffield Shield visits to Bellerive Oval.

George also returned figures of 3-32 and 2-38 on his most recent visit to the green-tinged Gabba, and it is these performances the selectors will have had in mind when choosing him as cover for Ryan Harris.

“(Selection) just shows I’m next in line at this stage or thereabouts, so that’s obviously fairly exciting for me,” George said on Wednesday.

“I’m not expecting really to be playing but to be around the guys and to be there ready if I do happen to get the call-up would be awesome.

“Just to be heading over there as a back-up is unbelievable for me and to say I expected it or even dreamed of it would be an exaggeration I think.”

Having never previously visited New Zealand, George said he would be hopeful to see a pitch at the Basin Reserve in Wellington that bore some resemblance to that in Hobart.

“That’d be awesome wouldn’t it, I’ve done reasonably well in the two Shield games I’ve played at Bellerive, so if I manage to get a game and perform something like I’ll be stoked,” he said.

“I’ve just been trying to do what I do, bowl my consistent line and length, and there’s some pitches and tracks that are better for that, and you get the rewards in some places that you wouldn’t get in others.”

Unsurprisingly for a bowler of George’s height and thrift, the comparisons with Glenn McGrath have never been far away.

One of his bowling coaches was once moved to describe George, then a new addition to the South Australian squad, as “like a young McGrath but with an outswinger”.

A question about whether he could be the next McGrath duly arrived on his departure for New Zealand, and George was ready to respond.

“I don’t know about that, maybe (I’m) the new Peter George,” he said.

“This is no different to any other day,” Nielsen told reporters at the team hotel in Wellington, flanked by a security officer, as TV crews spent the morning waiting in the foyer for any Clarke sightings.

“It’s all part and parcel of being an international cricketer. Every day of the week there is something going on.

“It’s just that most of the time you guys don’t know about it.

“We’ll deal with the distractions and move on and that’s life.

“We play a high-profile sport, we’re the only national sport in Australia, really.

“It’s the hard part about living on the road. It’s the hard part about living a life that’s quite public.”

Tensions are running high at the team hotel. Non-guests are being refused entry or being asked to leave.

Clarke’s media frenzy began when he left the country a week ago with three games remaining in the one-day international series.

He rushed home to Sydney to sort out his relationship with his bikini-model fiancee, who was attempting to deal with a nude-photo scandal.

Clarke announced on Friday the celebrity couple’s engagement was off.

The Australian vice-captain returned to Wellington on Monday and was under siege from the media, skipping a team function with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key later in the evening for physio treatment.

But the 28-year-old batsman did join team training on Tuesday at the Basin Reserve ahead of Friday’s first Test. He appears relaxed, but is still yet to speak to the media.

“Great to back with the boys. Just home from a big training session,” Clarke said on his Twitter site.

“Thanks to all my followers for your support.”

Nielsen said Clarke’s challenge was to cope with “external influences”.

“There are things that people would pick on, it’s just that everybody out there at the moment knows about this one,” Nielsen said of the enormous public interest in Clarke’s movements.

“Deal with things and still perform. That’s the nature of the beast.

“That’s why Michael has played 58 Test matches and performed so well.”

Nielsen says the Clarke drama is having “no real effect” on the team.

“He’s a player going through a personal issue like players tend to any day of the week,” the coach said.

“It’s just that we happen to do it in a public forum. We’re all supporting him and he’s comfortable where he’s at.”

Nielsen said he expected Clarke would be sledged by the Kiwi players.

“I think you could imagine that there’s a bit of banter that goes on, on the ground in every Test,” Nielsen said.

“As long as it’s not overt and it’s not so obvious for the public to see, I’m sure there are a lot of things said out there that nobody knows about.

“All it’s trying to do is get inside your mind and get you to not think about cricket. That’s one of the things we’ll deal with.”

Clarke would make his own decision on when to break his public silence when he feels most comfortable, Nielsen said.

As Australia gets ready to meet New Zealand in the first Test in Wellington, starting on Friday, let us go down memory lane and recall the first ever Test between the neighbours 64 summers ago.

It was also played in Wellington, in March 1946.

Historians will remember it as the first Test played after World War II. Cricket statisticians will remember it as one of the shortest Tests in history. The Test was not granted Test status by the ICC until March 1948.

To the great disappointment of the Kiwis, Don Bradman, then 37 (the same age Sachin Tendulkar is today) decided not to go on this tour. Don later wrote in Farewell to Cricket: “Much as I would have enjoyed a trip to that inviting country I was quite unfit to consider it… About that time I suffered a recurrence of fibrositis in its most severe form.”

The Ausies were captained by Bill Brown, who passed away in 2008 aged 95.

New Zealand skipper Walter Hadlee, the father of Dayle and Sir Richard, won the toss and decided to bat on a rain-affected pitch. He must have regretted the decision as New Zealand was bowled out for 42.

Playing his final Test, Bill O’Reilly captured 5-14 in 12 venomous overs and Ernie Toshack took 4-12 in 19 overs. Both were unplayable.

I consider myself lucky to have these two master spinners as my mates in later years.

Australia declared at 8-199 (John Cowie 6-40). But even with the pitch improving, the Kiwis were bundled out for 54 to lose by an innings and 103 runs within two days. Toshack had marvellous match figures of 29 overs, 18 maidens, 6 for18.

Skipper Brown scored 67 runs and outscored New Zealand (42 and 54) in both innings. With Sid Barnes (54), he had added 109 for the second wicket.

Australia and New Zealand did not play another Test until 1973-74, an incredible gap of 28 years. Can any Roarer explain this prolonged interval between the next door neighbours?

It was one of the shortest Tests. There have been 19 Tests which were decided in two days and chronologically the 1946 New Zealand-Australia Test was the 15th Test to have ended in two days.

The first Test, which lasted only two days, was the historic Oval Test of August 1882. Australia won the toss and was bowled out for 63. England replied with 101. Australia totalled 122 in the second innings setting England 85 to win.

But with Fred ‘Demon’ Spofforth claiming 7-44 (and match figures of 14-90), England was dismissed for 77. And surprise, surprise, Australia won by 7 runs.

The Sporting Times carried a mock obituary notice stating that the body of English cricket would be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia, thus starting the Ashes legend.

Perhaps Ricky Ponting will be loath to hear the word Ashes as he leads his team against the Kiwis in the Hamilton Test on Friday. He will be relieved to know that of the 22 Tests played in New Zealand, Australia won 10, lost 5 with 7 drawn.

And the last Test Australia lost to New Zealand was way back in 1992-93.

Sehwag hammered 75 off just 34 balls as the Daredevils easily chased down the Royals’ under-par total of 6/141, finishing with a score of 4/142 with 17 balls to spare.

Warne’s side, who won the competition in 2008, were restricted by some tight bowling from the Daredevils, with Abhishek Jhunjhunwala top scoring with 54 off 45 balls.

Australia’s Dirk Nannes was once again impressive and grabbed 1-27 off his four overs for the Daredevils.

The Royals’ total never looked big enough with Sehwag at the crease, as the Indian superstar clubbed five sixes and eight fours in his entertaining knock.

Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait endured a difficult evening for the Royals, bowling four wides as he finished with figures of 0-28.

Warne took the wicket of South Africa’s AB De Villiers, to peg back the Daredveils, before Dinesh Karthik (23no) and Mithun Manhas (11no) guided their side to an emphatic victory.

On Tuesday, Bangalore host Punjab and Kolkota play Matthew Hayden’s Chennai Super Kings in Kolkota.

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Unfortunately for the Australian vice-captain, his Sydney flight QF47 included a camera crew from Channel Seven joining him in business class, which reportedly pleased the cricketer not at all.

This couldn’t be confirmed with Clarke because he offered no comment upon arrival in Wellington for the two-Test series starting on Friday.

Clarke was met by a media scrum of 20 reporters and camera crews at Wellington airport at 2.10pm NZ time (12.10pm AEDT).

The vice-captain had skipped the last three games of Australia’s five-match one-day series against the Kiwis to sort out his relationship with bikini model Bingle.

Clarke’s management announced on Friday the pair’s engagement was off and now the 28-year-old is keen to turn his focus back to cricket.

Clarke was flanked by officials including team manager Steve Bernard as he negotiated the two-minute walk to the car park.

Looking drained and under siege, he threw his sunglasses on and repeated the line “no comment, sorry guys” at least six times.

“What’s it like to be back at work?” reporters asked.

The jostling for position was becoming quite a challenge for a crew from Christchurch working for Channel Nine, who were dropping equipment amid much pushing and shoving.

Within 20 minutes Clarke was in a more comfortable environment at the team hotel.

After making front-page news in Sydney for getting into an argument over a woman taking his photo at a nightclub on Saturday night, the relative quiet of the New Zealand capital must have been appealing.

Clarke was met at the hotel by batting coach Justin Langer, who gave his former team-mate a big hug as Clarke flashed a grin.

Skipper Ricky Ponting was also waiting for his deputy and offered a welcoming handshake before the pair started catching up on events of the past week.

Two hours later the Australian Test squad assembled in the foyer in their suits for a diplomatic function.

Clarke didn’t attend and was having physio treatment, a team spokesman said.

Pace bowler Doug Bollinger said his NSW and Test team-mate would be fine for Friday’s match.

“It will take his mind off everything that’s going on and I reckon it’ll be great for him,” Bollinger said.

“He’ll be great around the group and great playing cricket. He’ll be alright, he’ll be fine.”

Test team-mate Mike Hussey has paid tribute to Clarke’s mental strength, while saying that the Kiwis sledging the vice-captain over his personal dramas would be “below the belt”.

Test hopeful Steve Smith backed Clarke’s ability to rise above the dramas that have dogged “Pup”.

“He’s been through a pretty tough time of it of late,” the 20-year-old said.

“He’s a pretty tough customer. He’s going to come back and want to do well for Australia.”

Marcus North, Simon Katich, Smith and Phillip Hughes have also joined the Australian squad.

Michael Clarke’s hasty departure from the New Zealand tour is another step in the evolution of cricket to a modern entity. Consider twenty years ago a future Australian captain leaving mid-way through a tour to be at the side of his twenty-two year old girlfriend?

And all for what appears to be the nothing more than re-evaluation of their young love. Consider the selectors taking it lying down.

You would have to be deluded thinking this could occur.

Long gone are the days of Bodyline, not so long gone are the days of Dean Jones vomiting all over himself in the sweltering heat of India.

And most recently, gone are the days of sensible haircuts.

Now we have “gee up” music blaring from stadiums, childish nicknames plastered on the backs of players, balls of flame erupting from the outer and matches that are finished much faster than it takes to get a round of overpriced mid strength beer from the bar.

Cricket is now all flash, style and most importantly, marketable. Australia’s Posh and Becks, Pup and Bingle are just the tip of the iceberg.

The whole notion of Twenty20 cricket reflects this trend: showcasing 20 overs of reckless batting with purpose of nothing more than hearing the repeated crack of willow on leather and watching balls launched into the stratosphere.

Imagine the AFL heading down this path, with the last Saturday in September being nothing more than a session of kick-to-kick between the two best teams. Or imagine boxers taking turns slugging each other on the chin with the aim of delivering repeated TKOs.

There is no doubt this form of the sport makes people happy and makes players rich.

But brand name joint photoshoots with your model girlfriend, and focusing on just one aspect of the game, takes away from what was once originally cricket – a gentleman’s game of tactics, patience and occasionally suspenseful drama.

“I see the IPL is becoming bigger than the NFL, the NBA, the English Premier League.” So said Lalit Modi, Commissioner of the Indian Premier League, ahead of the third instalment of the competition which opened with the Deccan Chargers facing the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.

It is a grand proclamation from an ego that has few equals in the cricketing world, but is it based on sound logic or is it nothing more than hyperbole, a statement designed to create headlines and publicity, but with little in the way of foundation?

Call me a killjoy, but I would lean heavily towards the latter as opposed to the former. And this isn’t out of any dislike of the 20-over format which has been proved to have its place at the table.

The chief cause for any scepticism should lie in Modi’s ambitions. He has stated that the IPL is about introducing more people to the game, and to a certain extent this is correct.

Twenty20 the world over has increased attendances and television audiences because of the short and sharp nature of the product on offer.

But Modi’s focus is really on how much money can be generated. He has openly admitted that a spending cap on the participating teams is used to drive up advertising revenues and merchandise sales – not necessarily a bad idea – but if money making is at the top of the agenda initially, it isn’t going to slide down the agenda anytime soon.

And this is where the problem lies.

Modi recently tried to auction off two new franchises with no success and to rival the NFL, NBA and English Premier League, more than a six-week competition would be required.

To be out of the international consciousness for 85 per cent of the year simply does not lead to worldwide commercial domination, but the inability to introduce new teams suggests that a peak has already been reached.

The competitions Modi wishes to firstly challenge and then usurp are well-established with massive fan bases, a core audience and a share of the market that can’t be wiped out all that easily.

Soccer in America has tried, in fact is still trying, but it can’t break the strangle held by the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball. And soccer is the biggest sport in the world.

Modi has ambition, no-one can deny him that, but it’s hard not to feel that he is barking up the wrong tree entirely.

Money talks and the IPL has its place in the cricketing calendar, however, it can only grow so far without making further dents in the already saturated international schedule, and without growing it won’t force its way into the kind of sphere Modi wants.

Greed can sometimes be a good thing. In Modi’s case, it could be anything but and if I was in charge of the NFL, NBA and Premier League, I wouldn’t be losing any sleep.

The 20-year-old NSW leg-spinner is fresh from a stunning return of 7-64 in South Australia’s second innings in the Sheffield Shield match in Sydney.

Smith’s 772 Shield runs this summer at 77.20 including four centuries have put him right in the frame for a Test debut at the expense of the out-of-form West Australian Marcus North.

Ponting said Australia’s selectors had deliberately kept Smith out of the one-day international side for the series in New Zealand to give the talented youngster more time to continue his Test apprenticeship.

“He hasn’t done much wrong at the moment. Everything he’s touching is turning to gold,” Ponting said following his side’s 3-2 win in the Chappell-Hadlee ODI series against the Black Caps on Saturday night.

“He made another hundred the other day and he took seven wickets in the second innings of that game.

“That’s half the reason we didn’t actually add him to the one-day squad, when Shaun Marsh was out.

“It was for him to get a bit more experience at first-class level back home and hoping he’d do what he has done. That’s excellent for us.

“He has done everything right to give himself the best chance of playing.”

Australia’s selection panel may view Smith as a neat swap for North, who averages 36.70 as a Test No.6 and has taken six wickets in 13 matches with his off-spinners.

Form off-spinner Nathan Hauritz said he’d welcome the chance to bowl with Smith.

“I’m rapt that he’s coming over,” Hauritz said.

“It would be great for two spinners to be playing in Wellington.”

Ponting is keen to inspect the Basin Reserve pitch.

“With Shane Bond (the pace spearhead who has quit Test cricket) not being there for them, maybe they will be dry pitches,” Ponting said.

Asked if he thought the Kiwis would prepare turning decks for their left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, Hauritz said: “If they’re going to tailor it to Dan then that would be fantastic because that will mean I’ll get a bit more of an opportunity.

“I definitely think Wellington will turn a little bit at the Basin.”

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Clarke walked out on a five-match one-day international series after two games to rush home to Sydney to sort out his relationship with model Lara Bingle.

The 28-year-old announced on Friday that his engagement with Bingle was off.

He’s expected to take his place in the team for Friday’s first Test against the Black Caps in Wellington, with Ricky Ponting’s side resuming training at the Basin Reserve on Tuesday.

“I think it is a personal issue and it’s probably going a little bit too far if they do mention anything about that,” Hussey said.

“I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see really.

“He’s such a mentally tough person. He’ll be fine.

“It’s important we don’t get caught up in that by-play.”

Hussey says his team-mates have spent little time discussing Clarke’s personal dramas.

“We want him back as quickly as possible because he is an integral part of our team and a very fine player,” Hussey said.

“We want him back and a hundred per cent focused on playing well for Australia.

“Hopefully he can get through his issues as quickly as possible and we can have him back.

“But as a group we haven’t really spoken about it much at all. We’ve just tried to focus on the job of playing for Australia and we’ll let him deal with all his issues off the field.”

Australia lost to New Zealand by 51 runs in Saturday night’s fifth ODI clash but the tourists retained the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy with a three-two series win.

The main interest in the build-up to Friday’s first Test against New Zealand in Wellington will be the arrival of vice-captain Michael Clarke, who quit the one-day series five days ago to sort out his private life in Sydney.

Clarke, 28, ended his engagement to model Lara Bingle following the nude photo scandal which has dominated newspapers and talkback radio in Australia for the past week.

While the majority of the Test-only players are due to arrive in Wellington on Monday, media and public interest will be high on the both sides of the ditch for any sighting of Clarke in the team hotel, or anywhere for that matter.

NSW team-mate Steve Smith will be a bystander to the media circus surrounding Clarke over the next few days, but the youngster could find himself in the spotlight by Friday.

The 20-year-old leg-spinner is fresh from a stunning return of 7-64 in South Australia’s second innings in this week’s Sheffield Shield match in Sydney.

Smith’s 772 Shield runs this summer at 77.20, including four centuries, have put him right in the frame for a Test debut at the expense of out-of-form West Australian Marcus North.

North, who has averaged under 25 in Shield cricket, finds himself in a desperate situation and has no warm-up game in Wellington in the coming days to prove his worth, having failed to grasp opportunities in the Test series in January against Pakistan when he averaged 10.25.

Queensland quick Ryan Harris, who took eight wickets in the first four one-day international games against New Zealand before being rested for game five on Saturday with a toe complaint, is expected to be fit to play in the first Test if required.

The uncapped Harris and one-Test Victorian paceman Clint McKay will be competing for a spot alongside Doug Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson.

AUSTRALIA squad: Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Doug Bollinger, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ryan Harris, Phillip Hughes, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Clint McKay, Marcus North, Steven Smith, Shane Watson.

Australia had already retained the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy with three wins in the first four matches.

But the Black Caps were determined to play for pride at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium and bowled the world champions out for 190 in 46.1 overs chasing 242 to win.

In-form opener Shane Watson top-scored for Australia with 53 but mand-of-the-match Tim Southee grabbed a career-best 4-36 and veteran Shane Bond was impressive with his 4-26 for the Kiwis.

The game sprang to life in the seventh over of Australia’s innings when pace spearhead Bond dismissed Brad Haddin (17) and Ponting with successive bouncers.

Ponting was given out caught behind by Kiwi umpire Gary Baxter although the ball appeared to miss his gloves before clipping his helmet.

The skipper stood his ground for a few seconds with his hand on his hip, before reluctantly departing as Bond and slip fielder Ross Taylor struggled to stifle grins.

Cameron White was out for six on Saturday, his only failure of the series in which he hit 168 runs at 56.00.

Southee dismissed Adam Voges (5) caught behind according to Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf, although Voges also appeared to miss the ball.

Watson flicked a catch to short mid-wicket at 5-96 but Australia steadied with a 50-run partnership between Mike Hussey (46) and James Hopes (40).

Southee bowled Hussey and two overs later removed Mitchell Johnson (6) who holed out to long-on.

Bond picked up the late wickets of Nathan Hauritz (9) and Clint McKay (2) in consecutive overs as Australia lost 3-4.

Johnson, who was fined after clashing heads with Scott Styris in the opening match, took 2-42 in New Zealand’s 9-241.

He ended a dominant series with 12 wickets at 18.33.

Clint McKay, who was recalled while paceman Ryan Harris (sore toe) was given a rest, claimed 2-57 on Saturday including opener Brendon McCullum (1).

Johnson was too good for Shanan Stewart (6), while kipper Daniel Vettori (28), Scott Styris (55) and tailender Daryl Tuffey (36) made sure the Black Caps had a reasonable target to defend.

Australia’s two-Test series against the Kiwis starts in Wellington on Friday.

Ponting was philosophical about his dubious dismissal.

“That’s the game isn’t it? I was answering the question about not being given out the other night (in Auckland),” he said.

“Probably the most disappointing thing was tonight we had a couple in our top four or five that went against us.

“The umpires are out there doing the best that they can as well just like us as players. You’ve just got to get on with it and try to fight your way back into the game.”

Ponting also confirmed his vice-captain Michael Clarke would “definitely” play in Friday’s first Test against New Zealand in Wellington.

Clarke skipped the last three one-day games of this week’s series for personal reasons and travelled home to Sydney where he has announced his split from fiancee Lara Bingle following a nude photo scandal.

“Michael’s definitely coming,” Ponting said.

“When I have a chance to turn my phone on back in the rooms tonight I’ll probably have an idea of exactly when.

“It sounds like he’ll be back here and getting himself prepared to play the first Test.”

Ponting says vice-captain Michael Clarke is “definitely” playing in the first Test despite a high-profile bust-up with fiancee Lara Bingle in Sydney earlier this week.

Clarke quit the one-day series against the Black Caps after two matches and missed the final three games as he rushed home to Sydney to speak to his Bingle after the model was involved in a nude-photo scandal.

Australia lost to New Zealand by 51 runs in Saturday night’s fifth and final one-dayer but the tourists retained the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy with a three-two win in the series.

Meanwhile back in Sydney, Clarke has announced he’d split with Bingle and Ponting says his squad will do all in their power to support their vice-captain ahead of the first Test.

“Michael’s definitely coming,” Ponting said.

“When I have a chance to turn my phone on back in the rooms tonight I’ll probably have an idea of exactly when.

“It sounds like he’ll be back here and getting himself prepared to play the first Test.

“It has obviously been a tough time for him in the last few days at home.

“He was given as much time as he needed to get everything sorted at home.

“He’ll come back being the vice-captain and an experienced player for us in the Test side and we’ll give him as much support as he needs when he joins the group again and make sure he’s ready to go.”

Ponting said he was confident his side wouldn’t lose any momentum for the first Test despite being bowled out for 190 in 46.1 overs chasing 242 to win on Saturday night at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium.

In-form opener Shane Watson top-scored for Australia with 53 but Tim Southee and Shane Bond took four wickets each for the Black Caps.

Mitchell Johnson continued his dominance of the series, taking 2-42 in New Zealand’s 9-241.

Johnson, who was fined after clashing heads with Scott Styris in the opening match, took 12 wickets at 18.33 in the series.

Australia will resume training on Tuesday for the first Test.

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After losing the first game in Napier by two wickets in a fiery clash which resulted in Australia’s Mitchell Johnson and New Zealand’s Scott Styris being fined by the ICC, the tourists edged home by 12 runs in game two and cruised to victory by six wickets in the past two matches.

Thursday’s triumph with 17 balls to spare in Auckland allowed Australia to retain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy ahead of the fifth game in Wellington.

But Hauritz says the treatment handed out to Johnson and some of his team-mates by the home fans helped ensure there’ll be no easing off the gas for Ricky Ponting’s side on Saturday.

“Yeah definitely. All games are the same virtually, no matter if they’re dead rubber or the series is on the line,” Hauritz said at Wellington airport on Friday.

“The motivation is always there playing for your country, especially against New Zealand.

“We’ve copped some stick since we’ve been out here so the boys will be pretty keen to wrap it up four-one.”

Ryan Harris is in doubt for Saturday’s game with a toe injury, which could give Clint McKay his first opportunity for the series. Both pace bowlers are part of the 14-man squad for the two-Test series starting in Wellington on March 19.

“A couple of guys are a little bit sore. We’ll look at probably giving Clint McKay a game in particular,” skipper Ponting said after Thursday’s series-clinching win.

“We have to start looking at the Test matches now. We’ll see who we need to give a break, if any.”

Hauritz was enthusiastic about the chances of McKay doing well in game five after the 194cm Victorian picked up 17 wickets in seven ODI games this summer including 14 at 12.50 against West Indies.

“C-Mac has played unbelievable in Australia,” Hauritz said.

“It has been pretty tough for him having to watch the last four games.

“He has been training really well and I think he’ll be fine.”

Uncapped Tasmania captain George Bailey is also pushing for a game on Saturday if a batsman is rested.

Hauritz emerged from a quiet start to the Chappell-Hadlee series to dominate the fourth game.

His 3-46 came off eight overs and the NSW tweaker didn’t have it all his own way, conceding 22 runs in his last over including three successive sixes to tailender Daryl Tuffey.

“I’d like to get him out in the last game,” Hauritz grinned.

“But he definitely had the better of me in that last over.”

The hurried testing of a pink ball by Cricket Australia, with a view towards scheduling floodlit Tests in coming seasons, has been described as revolutionary.

Some 32 years ago the world’s finest cricketers were employed to do much the same thing, representing Australia, the West Indies and the World in five day-night “Super Tests” under the umbrella of Kerry Packer’s establishment-busting World Series Cricket.

These matches in the 1978-79 season were played over four days with a white ball and coloured clothing, starting at 1.30pm and going on until 10.30pm.

They were played at the SCG and at Melbourne’s Waverley Park, creating unique night-time drama for spectators but throwing up a number of problematic questions that the game’s administrators remain unable to answer more than three decades later.

Tony Greig, Packer’s chief playing lieutenant and captain of the World XI, argues that lessons learned then, and revisited in sporadic experiments since, make the administrative infatuation with night Test matches a mystery.

“To be perfectly honest I don’t know what is driving it (the desire for night Test cricket),” Greig told AAP.

“Normally boards are quite conservative about things like this and it seems they’ve gone the other way.

“Normally they actually get their ducks in a row quite well and it just seems like they’re trying to rush this one and it does worry me.

“They’re holding back Twenty20 cricket and they’re trying to rush Test cricket into the night.”

Chief among the problems confronted during WSC was the ball, which would not retain its whiteness for the length of time required by the Super Tests, causing manufacturers to coat it with enough lacquer to keep it swinging and seaming almost constantly.

“We had the same problems then that we have now – we just could not keep the thing white,” said Greig. “So you ended up playing with a ball that was harder and harder and a seam that was harder and harder as well, so the thing moved around all over the place, swung all over the place.

“That ball created monstrous problems for us, and those problems, to my way of thinking, still exist.”

CA’s recent experiments have led to the apparent conclusion that pink is not the colour to be used either, leaving orange – already tried in the Sheffield Shield during the 1990s – as a further option.

Ball politics was not the only obstacle to night cricket over consecutive days.

The players’ body clocks began to react negatively to the strains of successive nocturnal exertions.

As the World team’s fastidious wicketkeeper Alan Knott wrote in his biography: “It was an odd feeling to finish play for the day at 10.30pm. I would normally have a meal round midnight, unwind by watching a late-night movie and get to bed about 2am.”

Greig recalls being unable to sleep properly for much of the summer.

“By the time you got back to the hotel at the end of the day’s play, you still feel pretty highly strung and it really takes a bit of time to wind down,” he said. “We found certainly that we weren’t sleeping very well.

“The other thing is you used to have a very late meal and then try to sleep in a bit of the morning. So it was very different and it certainly takes a toll.”

On the field, the batsmen found the going tough – only four out of 16 completed innings tallied more than 300 runs – and as Greg Chappell said, they had never felt more vulnerable.

“I felt that if ever I was going to get cleaned up, it was going to be under lights,” Chappell told Gideon Haigh in The Cricket War.

“It was that much harder to see the ball, your reaction time was that much slower.

“The ball coming toward you, being rimmed by shadow, actually seemed smaller than a normal one.”

The players’ difficulties then, as now, ran headlong into the commercial imperatives of the day.

Following the first season of the WSC venture, several tweaks were made by Packer’s marketing men to make the series more distinctively different from the officially sanctioned Ashes Tests that were to be played that summer.

One of these was to take the night formula, which had been far more successful than the day matches in season one, and spread it to the longer form of the game.

This was done in part because television executives felt Test cricket’s deliberately paced rhythms were becoming out of step with public interest, a view now seemingly shared by CA chief executive James Sutherland.

His comments about how the majority of a Test takes place outside the hours that a regular working family can happily commit to it were uttered, if a little more militantly, by Nine executive Lynton Taylor at the height of the WSC split.

“I do not know that Test cricket can be saved. I hope so but I am not convinced,” Taylor said in 1978.

“People will no longer sit through five days of a match. Those days are long gone. People don’t go to watch beautiful defensive shots or the battle of tactics anymore.”

With that attitude in mind, night Super Tests were scheduled, and Greig said the players rode the bumps in the spirit of revolution.

“In WSC we were going down a very innovative line, and initially there were very few people watching and obviously Kerry was quite keen to make sure he delivered this cricket that he had into prime time,” he said.

“During WSC, everything was a bit of an experiment.

“By comparison with where we are now, I happen to think it is totally different.

“We’ve got an established night game, or two established night games, and I think the right place for Test matches, certainly until we can perfect the ball, is during the day.”

Greig’s reticence about night Test cricket is informative, given that he is known as much if not more today as a businessman and commentator than for his allround cricketing exploits of the 1970s.

“We’ve got two limited overs forms and obviously the two limited overs forms are the ones that must be played at night, because they lend themselves to that sort of thing,” he said.

“The Test match being a five-day match, particularly during the Christmas holidays, I am comfortable and I think Australians are comfortable having the traditional game played in a fashion where you have traditional values.

“I think there’s a place for that game in cricket, because we happen to have three different formats.

“The other aspect is we’re just not ready for it, we haven’t got a ball. “Whatever they say, there is no ball.”

However, from day one of the 1st Test in Melbourne, things went downhill, and stayed that way throughout the tour.

Pakistan lost the Test series 3-0, the second with victory in sight only to be ruined by bad catching and some bizarre field placings on the final day.

Even more so was the catching poor on the New Zealand leg of their tour, where Pakistan dropped an extraordinary six catches during one of the matches.

Then Pakistan lost the two Twenty20 games, and the Commonwealth Bank one-day series 5-0, to cap off one of the worst tours in Pakistan’s long history.

But no-one could have predicted the savage backlash that greeted the team on their return to Pakistan.

The Pakistan Cricket Board appointed a board of inquiry into the dismal performance of the Pakistan team on their tour of Australia/NZ, and the results of their findings were:

- Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan were banned. Yousuf was also stripped of the captaincy.

- Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved ul-Hasan suspended for one year.

- The Akmal brothers (who were involved in a major disagreement with Pakistan team management over team selections – at one stage threatening to return to Pakistan on the first flight after the Sydney debacle) and Shadid Afridi were put on probation for six months and were also fined by the PCB.

With overseas teams refusing to tour Pakistan because of security concerns and the Pakistan team imploding both on and off the field, the International Cricket Council must be concerned about the state of cricket in Pakistan.

Pakistan is in big trouble again.

The victory at Auckland’s Eden Park gives Australia a three-one lead in the five-match series and means the tourists retain the Chappell Hadlee Trophy ahead of game five in Wellington on Saturday.

Chasing 200 to win off 34 overs in a rain-interrupted match, Australia scored 4-202 with 17 balls to spare.

Man-of-the-match White’s 50 came from 57 deliveries while skipper Ponting was in blazing form with 50 off 35 balls before he was leg-before to spinner Daniel Vettori (2-29).

“The way White played in particular was a very sensible, very mature sort of innings,” Ponting said.

“It was a good run chase in the end, we did it pretty comfortably.”

Australia were looking a little vulnerable at 4-150 but White and Mike Hussey (28 not out from 17 balls) added 52 to pace Australia’s comfortable victory.

“It’s the first one I’ve won I think. I’ve been involved in a couple of losing series over here so it’s very nice to win this, it’s a very nice feeling,” said White, a veteran of Australia’s 0-3 series defeat in New Zealand in 2007.

Shane Watson (32) and Ponting shared an 82-run partnership for the second wicket after Brad Haddin fell to Shane Bond for a duck.

Vettori trapped Watson and Ponting in front as Australia lost 2-1 in 12 deliveries to bring the crowd of 11,265 to their feet.

Adam Voges, who replaced Michael Clarke in the side for the past two games after the vice-captain quit the one-day series for personal reasons, made 34.

Clarke, whose shock exit back to Sydney earlier this week came amid a nude-photo scandal involving his fiancee and model Lara Bingle, is expected back in Wellington in a few days’ time to prepare for next week’s first Test.

Ponting said he felt the drama of the week had tested the mettle of his side.

“It probably just puts a little bit more back onto me I guess. I’m lucky in the side as well that I’ve got guys like Mike Hussey and Cameron White who have good cricket brains,” Ponting said.

“I can bounce things off them when needed.

“Although you lose your vice-captain, I’ve still got plenty of other experienced guys around.

“Little things like that quite often I’d like to think bring good teams closer.

“Michael being out, Adam Voges coming in, it presented a great opportunity for him and the other guys stepped up a little bit.”

Ponting said pace bowler Ryan Harris (1-37) was in doubt for Saturday’s dead-rubber fifth game in Wellington with a toe injury, giving an opportunity for Clint McKay to play his first game of the series.

Spinner Nathan Hauritz (3-46) led a strong all-round performance from Australia’s bowling attack to dismiss New Zealand for 238.

Shane Watson, James Hopes and the in-form Mitchell Johnson claimed two wickets each to keep the pressure on the Black Caps who were bowled out in 44.1 overs.

Brendon McCullum top-scored for the Kiwis with 61.

Tailender Daryl Tuffey was the next-highest scorer with 34.

“Most of the dismissals were relatively soft,” Vettori said.

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The third edition of the IPL buzzes into life on Friday night with the meeting of the Deccan Chargers and the Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai.

And among the chief questions – apart from that of security – is how much age has wearied the tournament’s most bankable Australian assets.

Warne is now 40 years old and more poker player than cricketer, while Gilchrist is 38 and a commentator as much as opening batsman/’keeper.

Chennai’s Matthew Hayden sits on the board of Cricket Australia when he’s not writing cook books and Martyn hadn’t picked up a bat in anger for around 18 months before he joined the Royals as a speculative pick by the ever-creative Warne.

As in previous years, the tournament offers rich early opportunities for teams that have sculpted a squad not dependant on fulltime internationals, as players from Australia, New Zealand and England in particular will be late arrivals due to prior engagements for their states, clubs and countries.

Gilchrist’s Chargers have much to live up to after rising from the cellar in IPL year one to the penthouse in its sophomore season and the relationships forged in 2009 will be the cornerstone of whatever they can achieve third time around.

“We’ve got a great bond that is a legacy of last year’s victory,” Gilchrist told the Deccan Chronicle.

“It’s certainly something that will be an asset for us.”

West Indian speedster Kemar Roach looms as a key inclusion for the Chargers, while Mitchell Marsh, younger brother of Shaun and an extremely likely prospect for higher honours in later years, has the potential to be a matchwinner.

“We are very excited about the new players,” said Gilchrist.

“I am looking forward to playing positive and entertaining cricket again.

“We’ve made up for the loss of Fidel Edwards with the inclusion of Kemar Roach – he was very impressive during West Indies’ series in Australia.

“Then there is young Mitchell Marsh, an exciting talent, a hard-hitting batsman and a good bowler.”

Rajasthan will miss Shane Watson after his herculean efforts in year one, but Shaun Tait will give Warne the sort of bowling firepower most sides would covet.

Martyn’s role will unfold as the tournament progresses, but the team’s director of coaching Darren Berry has candidly admitted his selection will prove either “a masterstroke or a miscalculated disaster”.

The threat of terrorism that dogged the lead-in to the event has had the offshoot of meticulous security preparations, as Martyn related in his blog.

“Our home base has been a fortress,” Martyn wrote.

“From outside the hotel to inside the grounds, there are police everywhere even to the extent that on each of our floors there are guards and scanners.”

A significant handicap to Deccan is their inability to play at home in Hyderabad due to instances of separatist violence in the region, although Gilchrist is unperturbed.

AUSTRALIAN PLAYERS IN THE 2010 INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE:

Bangalore Royal Challengers – Steven Smith, Cameron White.

Chennai Super Kings – George Bailey, Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey.

Deccan Chargers – Adam Gilchrist, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Marsh, Andrew Symonds.

Delhi Daredevils – Moises Henriques, Andrew McDonald, Dirk Nannes, Dave Warner.

Kings XI Punjab – James Hopes, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh.

Kolkata Knight Riders – Brad Hodge.

Mumbai Indians – Nil.

Rajasthan Royals – Damien Martyn, Shaun Tait, Shane Warne.