As it stands I won't be a part of the one-day series against the West Indies. I got the phone call a couple of nights ago and was told that they were staying with the same bowling unit. How can I argue? They're going great, doing their jobs and staying fit; everything they should be doing! And on the other side of it I'm doing everything I can to show that I'm up to international one-day cricket. I'm bowling in the positions that the selectors have asked me to; I'm hitting the areas, pretty much, that I should be but I probably haven't got the wickets that they'd want from me.

Our most recent game against Canterbury was another one of those poor performances that don't do anyone any good. You can come out of some bad matches with a couple of people doing well. This one though, no one really shone out. We put in a pretty good bowling performance and a score of about 270 was probably what Canterbury should have got to; we held them to 242 by picking up wickets towards the end of the innings.

I bowled my 10 overs by the 40th and took myself off the park. My back, which has been tightening up in the last match, was getting pretty sore. It didn't affect my bowling but it wasn't great to be standing around with in the outfield. I got some treatment as soon as I was off the park and it loosened up quite quickly, but as there was no point me heading back out there I took the time to keep resting it and doing the back arches that would help it settle down.

So, 242 to chase - not a huge target but one that was going to take some getting if Canterbury's attack got it right, and they did. Shane Bond came out, bowled quick and swung big and they were tight and consistent from the other end. After nine overs we were 35 for 1, not too bad, but from there it all went downhill. 45 for 5 off 15. 95 for 8. 164 all out. And in that 164 Luke Woodcock and I put on 42 for the 10th wicket, he getting past 50 and I reaching another personal best of 19*. In that 19 I hit my third six of my domestic and international career. That added Andrew Ellis to a small group of three that I've put over the fence. Todd Astle in a four-day match and some other guy called Ntini or something in a Test match at the Wanderers. I'm not trying to brag or skite, they just don't come around that often so sometimes you just got to tell the world. Sorry Ellie, Todd and Makhaya!

Still on the hunt for a place to live, why can't it just be easy? Found some good places, but no parking. So it anyone has a one bedroom fully furnished apartment (with some parking) that they want to rent me, get in touch! Am I asking too much?

Sat in and flicked between the NZ vs West Indies ODI and Australia's Test against South Africa. The lads doing a bit of a demo job of the Windies and then some genuine compulsive Test-match viewing. It's this kind of cricket that shows that Tests are not dead. Not even close. What an afternoon and evening on the couch; and I'll be honest, I was flicking quite a bit back and forth, the ODI was a done deal quite early and the Test match just keep twisting and turning. Ntini and Dale Steyn holding on, doing everything they could to hang on for the overs or the storm that was heading in. Seeing the Australians celebrate the ninth wicket like they had won the Test was entertaining especially as the cameras picked up on Graeme Smith walking out to bat as soon as he left the changing room. That was one of those wow moments. I did want them to hang on and clinch the draw too, but it wasn't to be.

The body is pretty sore at the moment. "Tired muscles" sore. I've just started a new programme at the gym and whenever you do, with the change of movements with weights, it causes the muscles to get a little grumpy and hurt for a couple of days. Went and saw our massage man this afternoon and then straight to the pool for a swim and a soak in the spa. That felt good in the spa, and the leg started to free up; although now, as I write this, they're sore again, but better than they were.

It's now the day before the next match vs Central Districts at the Basin, just fitted in training before the rain arrived. It looks like it could be around a while and may interrupt tomorrow's match. We prepare to play, as always, but also mentally get prepared to be part of a 'stop start' match where we could be on and off the park.

Lazy afternoon watching the ODI and making sure I eat and drink well in preparation for tomorrow's match.

So, the 'Referral System' and my views on it; well, let me explain it first.
If either team is not happy with the decision of the on-field umpire from an appeal then, under this system, they have the right to refer it to the third umpire. Each team gets three unsuccessful appeals per innings; that's a minimum of 12 per team per Test match. If your referral is upheld, as in you disagree with the on-field decision and the third umpire agrees with you, then you don't lose that referral. Following? The system says the footage has to 'conclusively' prove that the on-field umpire has made a mistake for it to be overturned. But, they are only allowed to use TV replays, no sound, no 'snicko', and no 'hot spot'.
Got it? Good.

So, in reference to Baz's [McCullum] dismissal, with the technology that is currently available, only the TV footage, there was no way to say that Baz definitely did not hit it as you couldn't see 'daylight' between the ball and the bat because of the camera angles, therefore the third umpire had to stay with the on-field decision. But if you look at the trajectory of the way a ball and the plane the bat was following there was no way that Brendon did nick that ball. A decision that angered not just Baz, I can tell you. And this is where this 'referral' system fell over.

Shoe on the other foot, had the on-field umpire given it 'not out' and the Windies referred it to the third umpire, again with the footage available, the decision would stayed with the on-field decision. So from the replays he was, therefore, both out and not out depending on the on-field decision. Confused? So were we! And this is not the reason why the system was introduced. It needs some tweaks.

Firstly, three appeals are too many. Within the rules we contested decisions that, normally, we would have just moved on from and got on with the game. But as you've got three unsuccessful appeals, you may as well use them all up and have a crack at the 50/50 ones. The rule was put in place to right the wrongs of 'howlers' (like Baz's), the really bad decisions, not the 'iffy' (50/50's) ones. Maybe three in total for each completed innings (batting and bowling); a total of six per match per team?

Secondly, if you've got the technology, then why can't it be used? 'Snicko' is not perfect as it picks up creaks in the handle, it picks up the rubber of the grip snapping and also other noises that are made out there. 'Hot spot' is also not perfect as sometimes where the 'hot spot' should be, or not be, isn't shown on the one angle of the footage. But when you combine all technologies the picture gets better and better. There is a better chance of making the right decisions.

If all three technologies (camera angles, snicko and hot spot) cannot 'conclusively' prove one way or the other then the decision should stay with the on-field umpire.

Jeetan [Patel] secured his best Test bowling figures in this second innings, 5 for 110 off 46 overs. This added to the 25 overs he bowled in the first innings means he should be one tired boy. Both Dan [Vettori] and Jeets played important parts in this match. On a deck that just got better and better to bat on, and was great to bat on from ball one anyway, they did two jobs. Both Jeets' and Dan's economy rates were just a smidge over two per over for the match and came on in parts of the match where the batsmen were starting to control scoring rate. Controlling the scoring rate means you can attack a little more from the other end. And they picked up wickets too, 10 for the match between them.

Gayle was pretty good. Maybe, that's an understatement. He controlled the whole of the Windies second innings. His 197 was one of the best controlled innings I've had the displeasure of being a part of, and very unlucky to not get more. His dismissal was interesting. He attempted to pull Jeets around the corner, got a bottom edge on it straight down onto Baz's shoe which then popped up to his gloves. He certainly deserved more, but we weren't too worried about that at the time, in fact, still not bothered by it.

There was, at least, one more thing that was pretty interesting that happened in this match. And it just happens to include Brendon, again. It wasn't big and it wasn't clever, but it did show what can happen to people when the head gets all messed up. Daren Powell was having a little battle with Baz during the first innings. In fact it was getting a little bit heated out there. I can't repeat what was said here, as its second-hand information and I could get in trouble if I get it wrong. Either way what happened wasn't great for the game. Powell got quite heated at Brendon walking at him while he was batting; he took exception to it and then produced what I'll call a 'brain explosion'. In the middle of one over, Powell ran through the crease and threw the ball, rather than bowled it; something that is rather naughty. In fact, as a bowler, that's about as bad as it gets. The following morning, before we took the field, we had one rather sheepish-looking fast bowler come into our changing room and apologise for that delivery. And by the looks of it, that apology has got him off any disciplinary actions.
And that finishes up this match.

I'm now back with the Wellington side for a while. I'm hopeful of selection for the one-day series starting on New Year 's Eve in Queenstown. I know I have missed out on the two Twenty20 matches that are tomorrow and the 28th. So, Wellington v Central Districts in the lovely Nelson Park on the 27th. Hopefully I'll get through that match with some impressive figures and really put the pressure on the selectors for one-day selection. I'll be back on here to cover that match with some thoughts on the NZ Twenty20 match and whatever else is happening in my head and in my life.

Again, Merry Christmas, hope it's a great day with the family! Now sit back and enjoy the NZ Twenty20 and the Australia v SA Test match.

As we headed into day five, we knew it was going to be a tough day. And it was. The Windies were seven down and 214 in front. If we could pick up these wickets for around 40 odd runs, then we'd be very happy. That would mean there would be about 70 overs left in the day to chase around 250 and on that track we certainly would have fancied our chances. But by saying that, that means getting these three wickets was going to be hard work.

Day five and I've bowled ever day of the Test. The body was pretty tired, I didn't have the muscle soreness that I would usually, but the body was feeling tired. I knew I was going to have to work hard for every bit of rhythm and pace out in the middle.

Early bus to the ground for the fifth day in a row; there's no point spoiling what has been working. And when I say that, I mean it. Cricketers, generally, are superstitious. Although ‘superstitious’ is almost the wrong word. If something is going well then we will repeat those things we have been doing. A shirt you've worn when you did well is then considered lucky and will be worn day after day. The breakfast you eat before you head down to the ground will be the same as the day before, if you've had success. A lucky bat, a lucky pair of socks. Any day when you done well, I can almost guarantee you that cricketers will try to replicate the actions that honestly have nothing to do with the end result because we are mental! We have issues. We believe in silly routines that hopefully will bring us continued success.

So I get to the ground early and tape up my feet to save more blisters appearing. The feet are still sore and aren't going to get any better in the short term. I'm not complaining and I'm not the only one going through pain to play, not at all. It's just that it's my blog, and I can only really speak on my behalf. The blister on the ball of my left foot is the one the hurts the most. Every time I land to bowl it gets smashed up. But Iain, just get on with it, just bowl. Shut up and bowl!

Gayle and my 'pal' Fidel were batting. The first plan was similar to how I came out and bowled on the Saturday morning. Hit the deck hard, don't try too much, keeping the runs down and hopefully knocking them over early. Alas. I started well. Rhythm and pace came early which I was sure was going to happen as warms-ups had gone well. It didn't last though. I don't know if it was me being tired, possibly trying too much to bowl dots to Gayle or Gayle just deciding he was going to hit me everywhere. Probably a combination of all of the above, but in my fourth over I was made to look very much like an average medium-pacer. He just upped his game; maybe the bouncer I caught his grill with woke him up and made him angry. Sixteen off my fourth, and therefore last, over was not what we wanted. We will have to chase every one of these runs down to win.

I head away from that over hurting. I'm doing my best and at the time it wasn't good enough. I'm letting the team down. I was trusted with a job and couldn't do it. And those reasons right there is why this game is so damn difficult. One day a hero the next you can feel like a nuffy even though you're still bowling ok, things just don't go your way. Yes, luck does play a part! And I wasn't lucky today. I have mentioned in earlier blogs that when things like this happen I can sometimes shut myself off, get grumpy and not give enough to the team's effort. It's only normal to be disappointed and showing it and feeling it are often not the best things in a team game. I tried as hard as I could to get back into the game, to back the boys that were trying to do what I couldn't. It took me a couple of overs to 'get over myself' and start giving what the team needed in the field. This is a big improvement from what I have been like in the past. Still got some work to do with it, but sometimes when you're disappointed it just takes some time to be sociable again.

In the last over before lunch we picked up the last wicket and headed into the shed. 312 off 60 overs. We get this and it's going to be one amazing chase.

We were heading in the right direction, not cruising, but I'm sure our batsmen are making them nervous. Unfortunately we lost a couple of wickets in the middle of the chase and things started getting a touch nervous on our side. It was going to be a twitchy afternoon. Baz [McCullum] joined Jesse [Ryder] and things were looking good. We needed 140 odd off about 21 overs. That really is possible. The more we chase it too, the more chance the Windies have of dismissing us; a balancing act that both sides didn't want to give away too much.

Baz was given out caught behind playing a pull shot. Instantly he referred the decision to the third umpire as he was sure he hadn't hit it. The footage couldn't 'conclusively' show that Brendon didn't hit it so the decision stays with the original decision. I'll cover this rule off and the application of it in a couple of day's time.

And that ended our chase. Sure we still had five wickets in the bank, but could we guarantee that we could get through the 15 overs remaining intact if we kept chasing?

A real hollow feeling filled the changing room when it was agreed, with nine overs to go, that a result was not possible for either team. Some real weird emotions ran through me, but mostly disappointment that I couldn't have been the difference on the fifth morning. I tried as hard as I could the previous night to be that difference. I picked up a wicket and created a chance. I do take a lot of pleasure and confidence from my performance in the first innings but I wanted to have more of an effect at the important end of the match, to make the difference, to turn it into a very, very special match for me and a Test match win for the team.

I've got a couple of things to add to this in the next couple days, so keep tuned.
Have a great Christmas all, that's if you celebrate it, of course. I'll be with my parents, at home, a welcome day off.

Merry Christmas

I don't know if you can hear, but that's a bath running in the background, and once it's full, I'm going to sit in there and finish writing this. Why, because I can, I want to and mostly because I feel like I need a damn good soak.

Now that's a day of Test cricket; two down at the start of play and seven down at the end. With momentum swings at crucial points throughout the day it was one that could have gone any way. We're certainly not disappointed with where we are; three wickets in the morning and we'll be right back in there.

Bath run, lovely!

So today, it took us 16 overs to make a break through, and we get two at once. Marshall nicks one off Jeets and then Shiv, first ball, leading edges a full toss back to Jeets who happily takes the dolly catch. We got Shiv out. This is a cause to celebrate, and we do. That was one tight huddle in the middle of the ground, it turned into a bit of a rolling maul; we knew how big a wicket he is.

While we were waiting for Shiv to come out, Dan asked me to warm up, we had a plan that we were going to implement against him. I was going to bowl the next over from the other end. Dan had spoken to Ian Smith, one of the Sky commentators about a plan to him, and I had a chat with Simon Doull this morning before we started along the same lines. Both suggested the same plan, I get the feeling that they had worked it out together and both were taking credit for it. Any way, we didn't need it. A full toss was all it took, and that was about the only ball we hadn't bowled to him in this series. Jeets had two in two and was on a hat trick. Not to be though.

Gayle was still and looking amazing. I'm not bothered about saying that, as he has been just brilliant last night and today. Sometimes you just have to admit that when someone is hot, they're hot and let them be. Nash joined him and we were trying to attack Nash and defend, as much as we could, to Gayle.

We let Nash cut again. We really can't let him do this. It wasn't good enough from most of us to him. Gayle and Nash put on 124 and held us wicket less for over 55 overs.

We went into tea not with our heads down, but we certainly weren't bubbly either. We came out from tea with some real energy. A great chat in the shed from Dan and Baz and we fizzing. We're back out there with a purpose, with intensity and most importantly with the question ringing in our ears: "Who's going to stand up and make it their day?"

Franky had the ball and he 'stood up'. He hit the deck hard, bowled fast and really rattled Nash straight after tea. And then pick him up with a short ball grabbing some glove lobbing to 2nd slip for an easy catch. We're back. It took us another eight overs to pick up our next wicket, Ramdin hit a soft shot to Flynny at point. Happy days. Franky finished a very good spell with some good reward.

All day I had been struggling with rhythm and it was important that this spell, my last of the day, was up in intensity, pace and hopefully the rhythm would come back. It did, and early. The first ball of this spell kicked through to Baz like it had been in the first innings. Just one ball and the confidence grows and that feel comes back. Again, I'm back. If I had all night to type, I'd try to explain what I'm talking about, but I honestly don't think I have time right now. But I'll try to soon.

I had a good chat to Baz before the spell, he asked me to concentrate on a couple of lengths that were successful for me in the first innings, and hit them well. Defend as much as we could to Gayle and attack Taylor who was now in. I had picked Taylor up in the first innings by getting him hooking. That was going to be part of the plan this evening, although he wasn't coming to the party, at all. Plan B, the slower ball, again. Set him up with a couple of hard length balls, a good bouncer, which actually hit him hard in the grill; yes I did check to see if he was ok! And then the slower ball, the same one that I got Fidel with in the first. Same result. LBW. Yeah ha! That's seven down with about five overs left. A real good chance to pick up at least one more tonight.

Fidel came out at nine tonight, I was quite happy about this. Again I was going to refrain from bowling bouncers to him because he is expecting them. I started with length balls, hard and heavy. I got him to nick a good one to second slip, unfortunately it was dropped. These things happen and I managed to hold back the disappointment that I had been showing, quite a bit, back in Bangladesh. A positive and forward move for me.

No more wickets for us tonight, but my nine over spell was a real positive for me and the team. I bowled an eight over spell in the first innings when I picked up the last four and it had been a long time since I'd done more. I was pretty tired towards the end but there was no way Dan was getting the ball out of my hand. Hopefully I can start up in the morning and take the momentum from tonight into that spell.

Batting warm-ups are great. We're two down and there's no chance I'll be bowling anytime soon. I head down early again to get a net in before we start to warm-up properly. Over to Nelson Park to get on the bowling machine and I had a really good 'net'. Started with some full stuff, which wasn't really going to help me if I get a bat today as they're not going to bowl full to me, then moved onto some shorter stuff. That's more like it. Felt pretty good, the feet were working and I was seeing it okay. It's always a lot different out in the middle though.

Watching Timmy Mac bat yesterday was just brilliant. Watching him bat today was even better. He was like a barnacle on the bottom of a ship, he just would not budge. No matter what the Windies threw at him they just couldn't faze him - just couldn't get to him. All day he just dead-batted the good balls, ducked the short balls he didn't want to hook and stroked the fuller ones where he wanted. He looked great and fully deserved this, his first, Test match hundred.

Jesse Ryder, again, hit the ball like nobody else can. He is one serious player and stroked his way to a pretty 57. We sit back in the changing room watching him bat with awe just wishing we could have as much time as he seems to have.

Today was a very special day for Dan, but it seems to have slipped by without too much of a mention. He joined an exclusive club: 200 Test wickets and 3000 Test runs. It was a pity more wasn't made of it as this is one amazing club to be a part of. From me, congrats Dan. Amazing!

It was my turn to bat and guess who was bowling? I had a quick chat with Fidel this morning congratulating him on his 100 Test wickets which he completed yesterday afternoon. A quick chat and a laugh and a "I know what you'll be bowling to me when I bat" thought skirted through my mind. And I wasn't wrong. First ball - a bouncer - and I start to get under it, it grazes my shoulder and takes a bit of my helmet and heads down to fine-leg. Jeetan and I come back for two. Maybe I was a little silly coming back for the second, although I'm not backing down from this 'fight'. Next ball, bouncer, I duck this one better, it sails over my head. Third ball, another bouncer, and I swayed this one as it was a touch wider. Actually starting to feel quite good, I was picking the ball up early, even in the gloomy light, and felt sure in getting out of the way of the short stuff.

Fourth ball, I was expecting this one to be full and almost set up for a drive; Iain, don't premeditate, it only gets you into trouble! It wasn't full, another short one, and a late duck gets me under it quite safely in the end. Last ball of the over, this one has to be full. It was, thudding into my pads. I felt it was heading down and was surprised they referred the 'not out' decision. Third umpire agreed, not out.

For the first time in a while I ended up with a not-out. These are, normally, good for the average, that's when you get runs that is. My nought not-out does nothing for the average but I do take confidence from innings like that every time a short ball passes me by without leaving an impression.

I was given the new ball. And it didn't go very well at all. Four overs for 33 is not how you want to start an innings. But that is what I've gone and done. I've bowled a touch too short and gave Chattergoon too much width. That's the consistency that I just can't keep for the whole match. It's a learning lesson though, and straight after the day's play I chatted to a couple of guys, got some feedback and will go into tomorrow with a target to get those figures back in my favour. And maybe, just maybe, four wickets; but I won't get ahead of myself there though!

And there lies day two of this Test match. A day I will never forget. A day I don't want to forget. I have never felt like that in a Test match before. I had bowled 16 overs the previous day and woke this morning feeling a lot better than I would do normally. I'm not saying I feel that tired and stiff after 16 overs, I just felt real good. I had done my hot cold the previous night, had a really good massage and hit the sack after writing this. A good sleep, a chat to my wife this morning, breakfast and down to the ground early to get my feet strapped up for today's play.

For those that are interested, the big toe is a lot better. It was still a bit 'weapy' this morning, but wasn't throbbing or painful to touch. Good job, that...otherwise the physio, who was 'oh so very keen' to get the paperclip in there, would have had some explaining to do!

I wore my compression tights to bed last night, these aid in recovery, and I wore them out onto the field too. It just keeps the muscles warm and ready to go. Warmed up well, felt strong and had a good rhythm to my warm-up deliveries before the start of play.

Dan told me, early, that I was going to be starting up and asked me which end I wanted. I wasn't really bothered; whatever fitted in with the other guy the best is how I usually approach this subject. Maybe I should be a little more demanding in future, as I got the end I really wanted as Dan was going to bowl from the other end. With a tail wind coming over my right shoulder, I couldn't ask for a better breeze.

The plan this morning was the same as it was the previous night, to keep it tight, don't try to much and be patient. I started with three maidens and had some rhythm that I'd been searching for, for quite a while. My fourth over of the morning I had another maiden and two wickets to my name. Oh, that does feel good. Went from 2 for 59 overnight to 4 for 59 which, at the time, was my best figures in Tests and I was feeling great in my action.

During this spell Dan and I spoke quite a bit, not anything you'll pick up on the footage; just in between balls, sometimes, he'll suggest a ball to bowl or I'll put a suggestion to him. Today, this was really working. Powell came in and had been there for a couple of overs, Dan suggested that it was time to 'give him one', that means a bouncer. One of the better bouncers I've bowled, helmet-badge height, and flew right past him through to Baz. 'Right then, I'm going to bowl a few more of these', I thought. Next one, he got a top edge down to the fine-leg boundary, we caught each other's eyes and he said "I won't be ducking any of them." And that was fine with me. Back to bowling a length ball, he baseballs it to mid-on, hard. Millsy may have dropped it (no drams there), but he did stop the four. I did though have a real horrible feeling that maybe, just maybe, that was my chance of a five-for gone. And after the next ball, Millsy asked me if I was thinking that same thing, thought this was while we were celebrating my first five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Powell gloved the next ball, a short one, through to Baz.

Mum and Dad had come up to watch today, it had been a while since they've been able watch me play for New Zealand live. It felt so good to do well, to perform, to have success in front of them. I gave them a 'wave' (not a real one, but they knew what it was) on my way through to Baz to celebrate with him and the team.

Nine down and my pal Fidel is in. Oh, did I want to bowl to him! Another chat to Dan on the way back to my mark. "Mate, what are you going to bowl to him?" I replied, "I want to hit him, but I'm going to bowl length." And a smile came across Dan's face, which was what he wanted to hear. I had two play-and-misses and the over was done.

Shiv, who is just amazing, was still there. He is fantastic. So much patience and then when he wants to turn it on, he does so. Both Dan I were trying to manipulate the batter towards the end of the over so that we could both bowl to Fidel. Shiv was too good, and we pretty much only got to bowl to him.

I finally got a chance to; I had one ball left in my over. Since Dunedin I had been thinking about what to bowl him as a surprise. A bouncer was just too obvious and a yorker the same. I can bowl a loopy slower ball that, when I get it right, lands pretty much on the crease. And I got it right, from nowhere it droped onto Fidel's toe and I've got six. The wicket I wanted, the four wickets we needed for the day were done, and, wow, I had all four. Sure I would have loved to have added Shiv to that tally, but I'll take whatever I can get! I celebrated, maybe a little over the top, but at the time, I didn't care; I was on top of the world. When I looked back at the replay, I felt like a bit of an idiot. I do some dumb things out there.

Off the park, my feet out of the boots - thank God for that. Toe didn't give me any problems but the blisters were still sore. I went straight out to watch the Howza and Timmy Mac bat through to lunch. I did my hot-colds at lunch; it's at times like these that you don't mind doing the extra work to make yourself better for the next day. It's almost a pleasure to get in that tub of ice. O must be a sick man. Sitting watching the boys bat this afternoon was a pleasure, real old-school Test cricket. Two down at the close of play and the mood in the camp is very good. A very good morning cumulated into a very good day of Test cricket.

I had press to do tonight, a radio interview and the 'print' media to do a press conference for. I am starting to enjoy these. And they/you are reading this, so hi boys!

Had the pleasure of having tea with Mum and Dad tonight, really good to spend time with them. Now, it's bed time. I'll sleep well, if this buzz wears off that is!

So that's day one out of the way. Another mid-day start but this time the sun is shining. The deck just looked amazing, a definite bat-first wicket. We all hoped that the impressive tosser, Dan [Vettori], would come up trumps for us again. Alas, we lost the toss and are bowling.

Arrived at the ground on the early van, and headed straight over to the nets to get some work. I hadn't managed to fit in a bat the previous day at training so I thought I'd get some in early this morning. It was good, hit the ball pretty well and ducked and weaved well enough to feel as good as I can going into this match. Quickly back to the ground and I had a quick TV interview before heading off to warm-ups. A quick chat to Simon Doull about the preparation and way the match will go, also a quick chat regarding my blog. It seems that everyone is surprised that I am doing it, but as far as I can understand, they all enjoy reading it.

During that interview I said that if we had to bowl first it wouldn't be the end of the world. If you're going to bowl on a batting deck then often it's good to get in early, see what you can do when it is at its juiciest.

Stats from this ground, which is known as a batting ground, say that quite often the team that bats first after winning the toss will lose four wickets in the first session; which is what happened today.

After a partnership of 43 I came onto bowl, the 14th over of the day. As I said I felt good in the nets yesterday and took a whole heap of confidence into this match. First ball, one of the best balls I've ever bowled and we've got Chris Gayle. One of the big ones gone and I've got him. I can tell you I was pretty pumped after he walked for the nick behind; the perfect start to my spell. The next ball wasn't so flash, and two balls later, again, not so good. But I can tell you I'll take the wicket of Gayle and go for two fours in my first over every day of the week.

I was feeling really good, the pitch had some pace and bounce, not sharp 'take your head off' bounce, but it kicked and carried through like a good Test deck should. There was just a little, and only a fraction, of sideways movement. Apart from that, a really good surface for a good day’s play.

Jeets [Patel] picked up Ramnaresh Sarwan a couple of overs later with a very good catch by Baz behind the stumps and we had them 2-54. Pretty happy at this stage, a couple of big wickets back in the shed and we're bowling real well. Jeets was creating a lot of pressure by bowling maidens, not as a defensive plan, but by very good bowling. I had some pace and bounce at the other end and together we were bowling in 'partnership.' Partnership bowling is important; there is no point having one guy tie it up at one end while the other guy is getting flayed all over the park. It's important to keep the pressure on from both ends by bowling dots and denying runs.

Marshall was next to go and I had my second. This time Jesse [Ryder], at third slip, got one of those amazing catches. Just a little more bounce and managed to get him to fend it slightly down and to Jesse's right. He got both hands around it barely millimetres off the ground. That's three and we're very happy.

Sewanarine Chattergoon, meanwhile, at the other end played a very good opener’s innings, that was just before lunch where he tried to pump Dan through the covers and Jamie Hows took a great catch at second slip. Again, we enjoyed this immensely. We've got them four down at lunch after being asked to bowl and only gave up 74 runs off the 32 overs. Sitting pretty and the boys are going to enjoy lunch.

We didn't enjoy tea so much. The Windies were still only four down. Shiv [Chanderpaul] and [Brendan] Nash batted well, 150 for 4 after 64. We had done a great job of not allowing them to get away on us, so we were still very much in it, but we had to shift one of them as soon as we could. And, alas, we couldn't quite do that as quickly as we wanted to. It wasn't until the fifth over with the new ball until Franklin got Nash to drive one straight to cover, held happily by Flynny. This is where a good team will pounce, open up an end with a fresh batsman, who had his pads on for a long time, in. And we did. Dan replaced Franky and Denesh Ramdin left a straight one. Oh, those sorts of things are fun especially late in the day. If you see the replay you don't see the smiles move off our faces for quite a while. So that's six down and they're 258 off 91.

It was a good, honest day in the park. There was no really bad bowling, sure there were some bits that we could have done better, but we hung in there on a very good batting deck and we have four wickets to pick up as quickly as possible tomorrow morning. In saying that, we are well aware that this is the combination that put a whole heap of runs on us in Dunedin.

It was an especially good feeling taking the boots off tonight. My feet were sore. Never have I had sore feet like that before. Blisters and one banged up big toe on my left foot. The physio wanted a look at the toe, she wanted to pierce the nail and release the blood bruise underneath. I've never had this done before but it involves a lighter, a paper clip and someone to hold my foot down. I wasn't so game for this, but in the effort to try to reduce a bit of the throbbing I thought I'd give it a go.

So I now have a burnt hole in my big toe nail and a lot less pressure under it. The paper clip was straightened out, heated up till red hot and then poked through the toe nail so that the blood underneath it can, well, squirt out. It wasn't pretty; it didn't smell too good; and I can tell you, it hurt. Oh, gees it hurt. Hopefully by the morning it'll feel like new.

	I realised I couldn't just rely on my front arm to generate pace but also had to 'muscle' it from my bowling arm’s shoulder too © Getty Images

Right, it's blog time. The sun is shining, and wind is rustling the trees, the sea crashes on the beach across the road and I'm happy to be alive. Life is good, and no flying for a few days! I'll tell you also why life is good. Our training yesterday was in the afternoon, leaving the morning free for whatever you wanted.

I had a late call from Dan [Vettori] the night before asking if I wanted to play golf. It was a 6.30am leave, but I knew where we were playing, and there was no way I was going to miss this round. Eight am tee off at Cape Kidnappers Golf Club. That place is amazing. Look it up and check out the quality of the place - unbelievable views, amazing scenery and a brilliant, yet really tough, course. It's fair to say it cost me a bit, especially as Baz [McCullum] and I, who were partners playing against Dan and Jeets [Patel], lost the round and had to pay for the other two, including balls, carts, clubs, lunch and whatever else those two could add to the bill. But it was all worth it, I'd pay double to go back and play again; although it's two-minute noodles for tea for the next week as I can't afford anything else.

Back to the hotel for about 1pm, a leave for training at 1.50 so a bit of time to sit down, relax and prepare. As you may remember I wrote that I wasn't happy with my bowling in the last Test and I needed to do some work. This training was the day, as it was the first time since Dunedin that we've had the weather to bowl. We always get real good training wickets up here in Napier; they are across the road on Nelson Park, a club ground with decks that most first-class grounds would be proud of.

I was scheduled in to bowl six overs today in a four- and a two-over spells. My first four overs I wasn't happy with, the ball wasn't coming out right. I was working through my checklist of the key points to my action that I practice. Things still were not happening. I could actually feel the ball 'roll' out of my bowling hand, rather than being 'flicked' out with energy and intensity. I could see by how the batsmen were playing me; that it didn't have the pace or bounce that I would usually generate. Something was missing. I thought back to the last spell that where I had good pace and bounce, a spell back at the Gabba was the one that came to me, I remembered that I discovered something about my action there; that I couldn't just rely on my front arm to generate pace but also had to 'muscle' it from my bowling arm’s shoulder too. I know it sounds obvious but I hadn't had to think about this in the past. The last couple of balls of my first spell I concentrated on pulling that arm through harder with the pec and front shoulder muscles and it worked, almost straight away. My spell finished and I then had a little wait for my bat and second spell.

I then knew, after bowling those last couple of balls, that I was 'back'! That's all it can take sometimes, one bad spell and the confidence goes, and then just a couple of balls where it all feels great and the turn around and quality difference is huge. My next two overs were handy, not great, but better. Something I took a lot of confidence from and was looking forward to getting back into the nets today for training. So that was Wednesday, a lazy night for me after golf and a long hard training.

Thursday now, the day before, and I've done my training, back at the hotel and am getting this started early so that I can catch up with a mate tonight. Training today was really good, I had the 'feel' from ball one, hit the areas I wanted to and got the feedback that I wanted from the batsman. Not a ask-questions-verbally feedback, but I-can-see-how-they are-playing-me type feedback. The areas were improved, the pace was quicker and the bounce was steeper. Those things combined make batsmen’s lives harder and they respected it in a way that was different to yesterday. They know they're in a battle and react accordingly. Good feeling!

So this afternoon will be pretty lazy, although the sun is out and the beach is just across the road I'll be spending most of it inside, out of the heat, saving energy for what is going to be a hard, tough Test match on what looks like an 'Adelaide' type wicket. I'll drink plenty of water and get on board as much 'good' food as I can. I'll have a massage this afternoon followed by the cap presentation and captains meeting tonight and then, hopefully, catch up with a school mate tonight for a meal.

My job for this 'tour' is tickets. We all get given a job to do while away. Jobs like - looking after the flag before and after the match, same with the scorebook; organise the rental vans; head count to make sure everyone's there; physio's assistant; music box; fines and time keeper; autographs.

I am on the allocation of the complimentary tickets around the team. Dunedin was easy and there was quite a few left over after dishing out whatever guys wanted, this match in Napier is going to be different. As Napier is such a nice place for a weekend away and there are a few Central Districts boys in the team, everyone wants their share of the tickets and more. I don't know if I'm going to be able to please everybody. We'll see.

And that'll do it for today, it's going to be a great Test match on a great deck; we're going to have to work hard for five days to get this result.

I love Wellington, but, on days like today, I really hate the place. You see, Wellington is known for its wind. And when travelling between cities we fly. Wind, flying and me don't mix too well. Today is no exception. Leaving Dunedin with slightly overcast but still skies was nice, however, the descent in to Wellington was terrible. I get motion sickness and the bump, drop, bump, drop motion does nothing for me, well actually it does, and it makes me feel very, very bad! And here I sit in the lounge, writing this with an ice water sitting next to me and a motion sickness pill to take before we board our next flight to Napier. I should have had it before leaving Dunedin this morning!

Anyway, onto the cricket. Alas, nothing to report on for yesterday. We left the hotel for the ground at normal time. A small drift of drizzle was about but nothing of note. Not much had changed by the time we got to the ground, apart from the cloud build up which was a little greater. Ten minutes later and that had changed quite a bit. It was now proper drizzling; not quite raining, but more than just a wisp of rain. Another 10 minutes after that it was raining.

We knew, as players, that with this rain, play today probably wouldn't happen. The outfield still wasn't great from the rain earlier in the match and it really didn't need a top up of water. The thing was too, that with the amount of time we had already lost in the match a result was going to be a hard one to work. And losing more time today did nothing for that cause.

So, in all honesty, going out to play once things had dried up was of no consequence to the result. And when play was called off, just after an early lunch at 1.30pm, it was actually the best weather there had been in Dunedin for the whole match. Irony!

So, pack up time it was. I had spent the morning in and out of the changing rooms, including a real surprise visit by a dog. I have a couple of very good friends who work for the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind in Wellington. And through those friends I have had the honour of having a 'Guide Dog' puppy named after me. So there is a 11-month-old black Labrador called Iain. Yup, a silly name for a dog, but I like it and he responds to it which was cool to see. And he turned up to the ground yesterday to see me, with its 'walker', of course. I'm not a massive animal fan, but this dog might just have changed me; just a great little dog with such a great temperament. They reckon he'll be a great guide dog too. I had my photo taken with him and had a real enjoyable time talking to the 'walker', as they're called, and hanging with Iain. That was the highlight of the day really.

I grabbed Daren Powell aside for a chat during the morning too. He had played some League cricket at a club that's not far from where I live in England (when I'm there) so we knew some people in common. Spent about half an hour just chatting about 'stuff'. Good chat, funny guy!

That was the ‘cricket’ for the day. Cricket gear on the van, back to the hotel and straight to the gym for a weights session. A good full work out and the walk back to the hotel was a little wobbly, legs a touch rubbery and arms not wanting to work properly. Shower, pack, luggage down stairs ready to be trucked to Napier and down to the bar for a couple of quiets with the guys.

Here I sit, in wet and windy Wellington (I really DO love the place, just hate flying into it!) waiting for our connecting flight to Napier. Feeling a whole lot better too! And I'll leave it here as Dan [Vettori] wants a chat, a bit of a debrief for the match just gone and to cover off some stuff for this next Test starting Friday.

	Dan Vettori: an outstanding bowler and player © Getty Images

As I always say, it's great to be off the park. Seeing that last wicket fall is one of the best feelings there is, only beaten by actually taking that wicket yourself. Something that didn't happen for me today, but it was Dan's honour and by bowling Shiv he picked up his sixth wicket for the innings and his 50th wicket for the calendar year. An outstanding performance from just an outstanding bowler, player and guy!

Today just wasn't my day. Things just didn't work for me. I tried as hard as I could to bowl my maidens, to string together dots. For some unknown reason, I wasn't up to it. I wasn't trying too hard and getting tense; I wasn't too relaxed and had no intensity: it just wasn't my day. It's easy to say that, but I have to sit down tonight and have a good think about the day, what happened and why. These are often the toughest nights; a bit of soul-searching and every effort to turn it around for the next day. Although we don't have to go out and bowl straight away, hopefully not for quite a while actually, I will hit the nets in the morning and work some things through.

I did have a look at the computer tonight that records the proceedings of the day to have a look at my action. There was one thing that wasn't quite how it should be. My front arm wasn't doing the work it should have been. I'll have a bowl tomorrow and work though it in preparation for the second Test.

So, a day in the park in windy and cold Dunedin. It wasn't that bad actually, if you could keep your hands warm that is. It could have been a whole lot worse too. We could still be bowling; Jerome Taylor Jerome could still be batting with Shiv and, I guess, it could have been colder.

Taylor had one of those innings that I'm sure he had only dreamed about before today. Everything hit the middle of his bat. His previous high score was around 30 and today he pumped us around the park for 106 off 107 balls. A special innings, well played. Shiv, on the other hand, took his time. His 76 took 200 balls. Now that's a weird technique, it obviously works, but when you're standing at cover fielding and you can see the whole of the back of his bat, it just seems strange.

Millsy came out today with a couple of points to prove, and had a great day. Kyle did the job that I was trying to do, but couldn't do today. He bowled in the areas the pitch asked for and kept it tight and was rewarded with three very good wickets including a stunning catch at square leg by me. Okay, so it lobbed to me and was the easiest catch I've ever had in a match. But nevertheless, I did have enough time to think about a pretty straightforward catch I dropped off Kyle here in Dunedin last summer against Bangladesh while it was travelling to me. The brain is a crazy organ! It plays so many silly games with you.

I hit the hot-colds tonight after we got off, and then to the dining room for a meal once the day's play was over. A quick chat reflecting on today's efforts and a preview of tomorrow in the changing room and then straight back to the hotel and on here to get this done before my massage at 10pm. It'll be straight to bed after that too.

I said yesterday we were greeted with blue skies; today, not so.

We got back to the hotel last night at about 7 pm. As we had come off early because of bad light, there were clouds around. They opened up a little soon after we got back and stayed open for most of the night. We headed to the ground at 9:45, earlier than yesterday as play was due to start 30 mins earlier. Due out in the nets at 10:15 am to start warm ups. This was going to be a 'batting' warm up.

We already knew that play was going to be delayed a little because of the rain over night so there was no rush to get across to the nets. We milled around for a while and then I decided to get padded up and head over for a 'net.'

It was fine when I went into the changing room to get changed, it was very persistent precipitation when I went to walk out; the shortest 'net' of all time. I turned around, got unchanged and went and made myself a coffee. This was going to be a long day! And it was!

These are tough days. We had a couple over in Bangladesh and I talked about the three types of changing room behaviours. The 'card school', the 'ball gamers', and the 'readers'. Today there was just the 'card school' guys that got themselves active. The rest of us sat around, drank coffee and, well, talked about nothing for quite some time.

I took some time out of my 'busy' day to have a chat to a couple of the guys about one-day cricket. I have only played one ODI for NZ, against England last summer. I didn't go so well; six overs, one for 59, out of a total of 340 odd. Not the best, huh! The match was tied, so I guess we would have lost it if I had of gone for one more run (that's me looking on the bright side!).

My domestic record isn't too bad, and when I got my chance at the next level I had a bad day. I really want another chance to play again, to prove that I can do it and be as successful as I have been in this last year with Test cricket. I had a chat to Millsy (Kyle Mills) about plans, variations and the 'transfer' between Test match bowling and ODI bowling. Transfer meaning the similarities in skills from one form to the other. Then I went to Baz (Brendon McCullum) for a similar chat. Right then, now all I have to do is to convince the selectors that I deserve another shot. I'll leave that till tomorrow!

Looks like a sponsor has come through for some boots too. Happy days. I won't hold my breath, but just maybe my first pair of free boots. I'll let you know by Monday, so that I can give them some 'air' time on there as thanks!!

We had lunch at the ground at 1:30 pm and at 2 pm the umpires were having a look to see what time play could be possible. It was at this stage the blue sky peeped out from behind the clouds. All this did was make us stay at the ground for an extra hour. It didn't appear that we would be able to get out and play because the outfield was a touch damp.

So the Umps' said they'd look again at 3 pm. Not 10 minutes later it got dark again and the rains came back in. Thus ending the days chance of play. Load up, and back to the hotel and off to the gym for a cardio and a 'core' session. Thirty minutes spread around the cardio equipment and then off to the mats to work the abs'.

And that's about the whole day. Did some washing this afternoon, wandered the streets to fill in some time and have just had some tea. I'll get this posted early so that I can have the rest of the night off. Not that there is much to do but sit on the bed and watch telly.

	Daniel Flynn's well-made 95 was the highlight on day one of the first Test between New Zealand and West Indies in Dunedin © Getty Images

With blue skies above us and a pitch that looked pretty good our plan, as we go into Day One, is to bat first. And bat first we did. Dan won the toss, again; just adding to his impressive tossing ability! We were pretty sure we were going to be batting no matter what. Early in the warm ups we noticed that their spinner, the 6ft 8 Benn, wasn't warming up as if he was playing. That can only mean one thing, they will play the extra seamer and will want to bowl first. Therefore, no matter what, we'll be batting.

The new opening partnership of How and McIntosh headed out to face the new ball. McIntosh has shown every ability to bat for long periods of time, often for not many runs. And this was the case early in the day. I think it took him about 36 balls to get off the mark. He showed no hurry, no worry about sitting on zero for such a long time and was off the mark with one that raced through the hands just above the head of the gully fielder.

When Howza was out and back in the viewing room he commented on Mac's state of mind, the side that we couldn't see. "This could be one long duck on debut." Mac speaking to Howza in between overs. It didn't happen and Mac looked good till he tried to take on Gayle and couldn't clear mid on. A disappointing way for him to get out after showing some pretty good guts and determination to the quicks, who bowled pretty quick.

This brought Flynny and Rossco together, one gutsy little accumulator and one of the classiest right hander's around. Two down and sitting reasonably pretty, a real chance to push on and grind the game away from them. I know it's only early in the match, but there was a chance to really take it away from the 'Windies. It wasn't to happen in this partnership. Rossco put together a nice start and then took on Gayle, up, up, a long way up and unfortunately dropping down to safe hands. Three for 120 odd and Jesse heads out to see Flynny.

That's two wickets fallen early in the second session. A goal of ours is to not lose more than two in a session. Jesse and Daniel now have some work to do to get us through to Tea. Oh, and they did an outstanding job. Both looked so comfortable and with a backward point fielder out on the fence they took advantage of this and rotated the strike nicely, ticking over the scoreboard, taking control.

Flynny got himself past 49 for the first time. Twice he'd been out on 49. He raised his bat today and kept batting beautifully until he became a part of history. Unfortunately not for the reasons he, or we, wanted. Flynny was adjudged lbw via the third umpire after Gayle referred a 'not out' decision from the umpire. This was the first time the system has been used in NZ and in the first referral an on field decision was overturned.

Daniel was on 95 and looking comfortable. So the system takes its first victim. The decision took quite a long time to give; it was one of those ones that just didn't look right, therefore the batter getting the benefit of the doubt from the onfield umpire. When you then get the computers and slow mo's involved, and according to the 'laws' of the 'referral system', it had to be out, denying Flynny his maiden hundred.

Baz at six and the majority of the final session to go. Another target was to lose no more than 4 wickets in the day. This means that Jesse and Baz have to get us through to stumps. And they did. Albeit almost an hour early as the clouds rolled in and it became quite dark out there. With the days play starting at mid day means that the scheduled close of play is 7pm. No problems with finishing that late down here, if there's no cloud around that is.

So we start 30 minutes earlier tomorrow to try to make up the time. A mid-day start is actually a little weird for a Test match, especially as just recently we've come from Bangladesh where we started at 9:30 am. The late start means that breakfast is brunch and lunch is at afternoon tea time. It just doesn't feel normal, so as long as you don't look at your watch it's ok.

We head into Day Two in a pretty strong position, Jesse was looking strong and full of great timing and Baz showed great technique to see the day out and get us through with no more than four batters in the shed. And if all things go well, maybe a bowl late tomorrow afternoon.

Let's kick this thing off.....

Finally some sunshine. I'm not going to come out and jump for joy about how much, but it was enough for us to get outside and train. Training on grass is the best thing for us. And unfortunately we just have to train indoors sometimes, just one of those unavoidable. Indoor training is just so hard on the body. Generally it's artificial grass straight on top of concrete. Genuine surface for batting on, but it's to bouncy and quick in comparison to what we generally play on. Not to mention it's hard on the ankles, shins, knees etc. So, normally the bowlers won't 'run' in and bowl on these surfaces; it's just not worth the injury risk. Although yesterday, with the forecast in mind, most of the bowlers did some form of bowling indoors. There was a chance that it was going to be 'showery' today and that would mean that we would have to, again, train indoors. So we all got some bowling in to make sure that we had some under our belts.

So training today, outside, on some pretty good training decks. They played pretty well for being under cover for the last 3 days. All bodes well for the bit out in the middle of University Oval. Got four overs under my belt, one to warm up, two at full pace and then one to work on different things like bouncers and other lengths. This is normally what I would have done two and three days out from a match, not the day before. But you do whatever you can to get ready when the opportunity is there. Felt pretty good. Worked hard on part of my action that I have never been happy with and am always working on; I bring my bowling arm back behind my head and almost down to my left shoulder blade. This creates a lot of torque and can mean I miss the timing of other parts of my action if things aren't going well. So I'm always trying to have it 'load' up next to my head rather than half way down my back. Maybe, just maybe I'm onto something today after chatting to our bowling coach yesterday. I won't be worrying about it too much out in the middle tomorrow, as it's too new to really be 'grooved' in, but it's something to work on.

The last couple of nights I've been studying some video footage of the opposition batsmen via a computer we keep 'a lot' of matches on. All our games are logged on it, and then some other games from around the world are logged on it too. This gives us a great resource to check in with our own skills as well as others. The bowlers will get together tonight to discuss bowling plans to the individual batsmen from the West Indies and we'll formulate plans to, hopefully, stick to.

I go into this match with a pair of boots that has now lasted me four Test matches and a whole lot of bowling in between. They are in ok nick, but it's almost time for a new pair as they are starting to lose their support through the ankle, which is an area I have issues with. It's something that we need to keep on top of. Bowling boots that are not in good condition are injury hazards. They don't do the job they are supposed to and can do more harm than good. Hopefully a sponsor will read this and get in touch.

In saying that, Adidas sent me some new 'sunnies' the other day. I didn't wear sunglasses in the first innings at Adelaide cause the ones that I had been wearing had been broken by our manager, he dropped a bat on them, snap. That was a tough couple of days in the park squinting in the Adelaide sun. I borrowed some off Hoppy on the Sunday and life was so much better. Again, things like this can make a whole days play just that much easier.

I now head off to our bowlers meeting and then Cap Presentation. It's a different team to what I lined up with in Australia and I'm looking forward to what these guys will bring to this match.

Presentation done, tea (a curry) in my belly and I'm ready for bed. The forecast isn't looking that as good as it has been today, but we all hold faith that it will be just fine.

In this match the 'referral' system is being used for decisions. If, as a player, you disagree with an umpires decision you can send it to the 'Third' umpire for them to judge. This is a big change and is still in trial mode. It has been used before, Sri Lanka vs India. It will be interesting to see how many times it is used, if at all, and the effect of it on the match. I just had a good chat with Tony Hill, the Fourth Umpire for this match, about it. Trying to test the boundaries of the system is what it's all about, that is, without stepping outside the spirit of the game. I'm looking forward to seeing it in action, and do I agree with it or not. Well, I'm a little impartial to be honest. I've missed out on a few Test wickets but I've also 'got' a couple too. It's the swings and roundabouts, its cricket. I guess they're trying to get rid of the swings and roundabouts, and just get it right the first time. And, again, that's fine with me. I have a pretty good relationship with the umpires that I've played with and we all know we make mistakes, its fine... its cricket!