Doull thirsts for home pitch (31 December 1998)

31 December 1998

Doull thirsts for home pitch

The Christchurch Press

Expect a harder, bouncier test cricket wicket in Hamilton, says Simon Doull, Man of the Match at Wellington.

Doull will be playing on his home pitch in the third and final test of the BNZ series starting on Saturday.

He expects the pitch to be quicker than the Basin Reserve surface where he bagged career-best innings figures of seven for 65.

"The groundsman there has been developing a track which has got more pace in it over the last year or so and I'm looking forward to it."

Doull said he was thrilled his first-day success had set up the Black Caps' victory and would have been disappointed had all the work not been capped off with a win.

Doull finished with nine wickets for the match and is fast closing on his season target of 100 test wickets.

"It's been good to make a bit of a hole in it first up."

Doull was closely pressed for the Man of the Match award by Dion Nash whose first innings 89 not out gave the Kiwis the much-needed lead it seemed at one stage unlikely to capture. Nash later took three wickets in India's second innings, including the key scalps of Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammed Azharuddin.

Captain Stephen Fleming said the key now was for New Zealand not to lose focus as it had at times in the past and follow a good effort with a mediocre one.

Coach Steve Rixon was confident the wicket at Hamilton would provide an outright result.

Source :: The Christchurch Press (https://www.press.co.nz/)