Thornley and Krejza give NSW the upper hand

New South Wales 8 for 278 (Thornely 59, Krejza 54, Butler 3-47, Franklin 3-70) lead New Zealand 213
by 65 runs
Scorecard

James Franklin dismissed both Thornely and Krejza as New Zealand fought back © Getty Images Enlarge

Having bowled New Zealand out for just 213 on the opening day, New South Wales made sedate progress with the bat on the second, finishing at 8 for 278, a lead of 65 runs. Dominic Thornely and Jason Krezja made half-centuries, and despite three wickets apiece for James Franklin and Ian Butler, there was nothing in New Zealand's bowling display to worry the Australians ahead of the first Test, which starts in Brisbane next Thursday.

Thornely, who has now aggregated 570 runs in the past fortnight, led the reply after Greg Mail had ground out a dour 43 at the top of the order. Krejza, in his first full season for the Blues, then livened up proceedings after New South Wales had slumped to 6 for 183 at tea. The air of indolence surrounding the game was exemplified by the spectator who entered the ground to find no security personnel chasing him off.

The one plus for New Zealand was the bowling of Butler on a pitch that provided the slow bowlers with more assistance. "For my first game in a month I am pretty happy, there's still a lot of work to do," he said later.

Franklin, who should share the new ball at the Gabba with Jacob Oram, also picked up three, while Paul Wiseman picked up 2 for 76.