Redmond leads the way

Opener Aaron Redmond scored 121 on day one

Aaron Redmond’s sixth first-class hundred underpinned New Zealand’s 329 for eight on day one of their tour match against Northamptonshire.

Opener Redmond has been short of runs in his first two Tests but pretty full of them otherwise on his maiden tour - and that trend continued as he passed 500 for the summer in the course of today’s 121.

He and Peter Fulton (57) needed their wits about them against the swinging ball as they laid the foundations for a first-wicket stand of 113, after being put in on a cloudy morning.

But it was in another century stand - 144 for the fourth wicket with his captain Brendon McCullum (72) - that Redmond showed a fuller repertoire as he converted a 136-ball half-century into three figures in only 64 more.

His second 50 also contained 42 runs in boundaries, from the 19 fours and a six he struck in all.

The Kiwis’ progress was oddly staccato throughout against a below-strength Northants attack, David Lucas and Johann Louw testing the openers - before the introduction of change seamers Richard Logan and Dave Wigley immediately and dramatically released the pressure.

After Fulton went to the first ball he faced in the second session, a passage of 22 runs for two wickets in 12 overs ensued.

The common denominator to New Zealand’s fallow periods was Louw, who in his new-ball spell and then after lunch had figures of 13-8-13-1.

It was not until the eighth over that New Zealand registered their first boundary - as Louw and Lucas beat the bat on either side and had several feasible lbw appeals turned down.

Cloud cover persisted to the extent that the umpires offered the openers the chance to go off for bad light after 50 minutes.

To their credit, Fulton and Redmond chose to stay - a decision they did not have cause to regret as more than 80 runs came from the next 12 overs.

Peter Fulton struck 57 at the top of the order

Fulton profited from a mis-pull over second slip off Lucas - before both batsmen took an instant liking to Logan’s accommodating leg-stump line.

Fulton pressed on to his 50 from 72 balls, a resounding pull for six to the longest boundary off Wigley the highlight to go with eight fours.

Redmond needed one slice of luck on 29 - when off-spinner Jason Brown flinched at the chance of a hard-hit return catch and instead conceded a boundary.

There was no reprieve, though, for Fulton - who nicked a good ball from Louw behind - and James Marshall’s lack of runs continued when he went after a wide one that lifted from Logan and was well-held at first slip by Steve Peters.

Ross Taylor also fell looking to climb into an off-side carve, edging Lucas to the wicketkeeper.

McCullum then batted largely against type until tea, save for a huge slog-swept six off Brown, and his 66-ball 50 featured only four boundaries from a man famed worldwide for his brutal hitting.

Redmond set about proving he could attack as well as defend, hitting slow left-armer Graeme White high over long-on for a maximum - and he brought up his hundred thanks to two deft fours guided to vacant third man in one Logan over.

After Redmond cut Wigley to point, Daniel Flynn was lbw to a full-length Wigley inswinger for only five.

It was a short and uncomfortable first innings back for the middle-order man, after losing two teeth to a James Anderson bouncer in the Old Trafford Test a week ago.

But for New Zealand - even after McCullum had gone lbw when there appeared to be a suspicion of bat before pad in a rush of four wickets for only 11 runs, all to the resurgent Wigley (4-77) - concerns over Flynn’s well-being for next week’s third Test were off-set by significant profit for most of his team-mates.