A fiery Tait sinks New Zealand

Shaun Tait breathed fire and New Zealand didn't have the heart, and at least today, the skills, to extinguish it. Tait scythed through the top order to leave New Zealand gasping for breath at 73 for 6 at one stage.

It was a shambolic effort from the New Zealand top order. Some of the deliveries didn't deserve wickets but New Zealand were in the mood for self-destruction. They handled the best bowler on view, Lee, with caution and gave him just one wicket but imploded against Tait and Johnson. Both bowlers bowled enough tight deliveries to lure the batsmen into mistakes with deliveries that had some teasing width.

Everything that one expected from this Australian pace attack was visible today. It was expected they would either blow away the opposition or leak runs on flat tracks. Eleven fours came in the first 12 overs but the wickets too kept tumbling. Lee strangled the batsmen with his nagging line and length, Tait slung them in full and fast, Johnson went round-arm to catapult pacy deliveries and Shane Watson was accurate enough to let the vagaries of the up-and-down track to do its bit.

In many ways, Taylor's dismissal captured New Zealand's iffy batting effort. It was a full delivery on the off stump line from Tait and instead of driving it in the 'V', Taylor, who averages just 28.86 since March 2009, played a messy across-the-line waft to lose his stumps. Tait roared. Australia oozed intent.