Fleming and Richardson put New Zealand in strong position

Stephen Fleming hits out on his way to an unbeaten 112
©AFP

Local predictions that New Zealand might wilt in harsh Sri Lankan conditions proved overly optimistic on an attritional opening day of this two-Test series at the P Saravanamuttu Oval. The heat was stifling, baking the smattering of spectators housed in the metal-roofed pavilion, but the pitch was pancake flat and Sri Lanka's quartet of spinners made little headway against the visitor's stubborn pair of left-handers, Mark Richardson and Stephen Fleming.

Brought together by the early loss of Matt Horne, they profited from some butter-finger catching and crawled along in the first two sessions - scoring 66 in the morning and 73 in the afternoon - before turning the screws slightly in the evening.

A breakthrough with the new ball by Chaminda Vaas - who had otherwise had a relatively innocuous day, failing to swing the new ball or reverse the old - immediately after the last drinks break pulled the home side back into the game, but by then, Fleming and Richardson had extended the partnership to 172 - a team record for the second wicket against Sri Lanka, surpassing the 141 by Bryan Young and Horne in 1996/97.

Fleming, who prior to the match had called for his senior players to shoulder responsibility in the absence of key middle-order players, led from the front. During the first two sessions, he was rarely fluent, content just to keep Sri Lanka's spinners - especially the probing Muttiah Muralitharan - at bay. But during the final session, he started to assert himself, eventually bringing up his fifth Test century with a cover-drive for four. He finished the day on 112 from 248 balls.

"The aim is to get a big score tomorrow and definitely have a go at the Sri Lanka batsmen sometime in the afternoon," Fleming explained. "Muralitharan was difficult to play as usual, but I have told my batsmen to watch him carefully. I am happy with my century, but a lot more needs to be done on the second day."

Richardson pulled his hamstring in the first session and batted throughout the afternoon with a runner - meaning that poor Horne faced an evening of rehydration despite scoring just four - anchored the innings, carrying through his good form from the warm-up matches when he had scored 106 and 93. He also looked set to reach three figures, although he had virtually ground to a halt against the spinners.

Patient and unflustered throughout - even after being rattled on the helmet by a skidding Vaas bouncer in the afternoon - he eventually chopped one on to his stumps, having occupied the crease 325 painstaking minutes for his 84 (192 for two).

It could have been different for Sri Lanka, who were left to rue another fumbling performance in the field. Richardson the chief beneficiary, was dropped first by Mahela Jayawardene at first slip when he had made 34 - a regulation chance - and then on 63 by Romesh Kaluwitharana, playing his first Test for two years.

Fleming, too, had moments of alarm, edging between slip and the wicketkeeper in the morning and pulling within inches of a diving Kumar Sangakkara at mid-wicket later in the day.

In all, it proved to be a frustrating day for the new captain, Hashan Tillakaratne, who stamped his authority early on by ensuring his players wore their traditional caps during the first session. Unfortunately, the dropped catches exposed the same problems faced by his predecessor: the lack of penetrative support for Muralitharan.

The offspinner caused problems throughout the day but after 27 overs of effort, he left the field wicketless. The other spinners were economical but far less threatening.

Horne's wicket was the only one to fall in the first two sessions, a first Test victim for Prabath Nissanka, the 22-year-old fast bowler with rickety knees and tree-trunk thighs, who bowled an impressive spell first up. Horne appeared to have weathered the new ball, digging in for 44 minutes, before being surprised by some sharp bounce from Nissanka. He fended off a sharp chance to short leg, where Dharmasena clung on to a fine one-handed diving catch (20 for 1).

And that was pretty much all Sri Lanka had to celebrate for a long while thereafter. Advantage New Zealand, after a day when aggression was firmly pushed into the background.