Fans pass test of patience

Kevin Pietersen is becalmed on the third afternoon. His innings of 42 occupied 131 deliveries

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Watch Kevin Pietersen and the end of play report from day three of the Test on ECBtv

Free yoga sessions are being held in Hamilton this weekend for those who need to “de-stress”.

It is unlikely that any spectators from the first Test between New Zealand and England will be in attendance, for they have had plenty of time to relax over the last few days.

The game has progressed at a pace in keeping with the unhurried nature of life in New Zealand, with moments of excitement or inspiration at a premium.

If the opening two days at Seddon Park rarely brought the crowd to their feet - with the exception of the Barmy Army, whose enthusiasm is such that they never seem to sit down - the third offered numerous opportunities to catch 40 winks.

Just 72 runs were scored in 32 overs in the morning session, and a barely credible 56 in 31 between lunch and tea. It was cricket that could euphemistically be described as absorbing.

England’s caution no doubt owed much to the fact that every time they cast a glance at the scoreboard, they were reminded of New Zealand’s daunting total of 470.

But the pressure applied by the home attack, and spinners Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel in particular, was arguably the greater influence on the fact England scored at barely two runs an over throughout the day.

Captain Michael Vaughan, who resumed on 44 not out, finds the going tough in the morning

Maybe we have been spoiled by the increasing prevalence of one-day cricket in recent years, which has served to propel run-rates higher in the longer form of the game.

One gets the impression sometimes that anything less than a boundary an over is not enough to hold the attention of some spectators, but we need cast our minds back only as far as the previous decade to recall Tests in which barely 200 runs were scored in a day.

It is worth stressing that fewer runs do not necessary mean less exciting cricket - many of the best games in history have been low-scoring encounters - but, whatever the final two days of this match hold in store, it is unlikely it will fall into such a distinguished category.

All things considered, the crowd were remarkably patient - and even managed to retain their sense of irony, cheering a Kevin Pietersen single that broke a sequence of 29 dot balls in the afternoon session.

England’s passing of the follow-on target also brought applause from the sizeable travelling contingent, but there seems little prospect of their side winning a game New Zealand have controlled from early on day one.

The Black Caps can thank Vettori, in particular, for the fact England still trail by 184 runs.

Ian Bell is bowled by Kyle Mills, victim of a brilliant off-cutter and incessant pressure

Not only did he bowl superbly, mixing his pace and angle of attack expertly during 28 overs that were never less than probing, but he captained the side intelligently and rotated his bowlers to good effect on a pitch that continues to offer little in the way of assistance.

Michael Vaughan, Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell departed sporting puzzled looks, suggesting that they could hardly comprehend how they had succumbed on the most benign of surfaces.

Vaughan was undone a lack of spin from Patel, Strauss was bowled aiming across the line to a Vettori delivery that sharply out of the footholes, and Bell had his off stump clipped by the best ball of the day, a vicious off-cutter from Kyle Mills.

Those dismissals were also the result of almost incessant pressure, an adherence to the basics of maintaining a good line and length complemented by Vettori’s smart field placement.

The closest England came to releasing the pressure was in the final session when Paul Collingwood and Tim Ambrose struck five boundaries in the space of eight overs as they passed the follow-on target of 271.

But their brief flurry is unlikely to have caused Vettori much concern, and it is safe to assume he too will not be joining Hamilton’s yoga community in the near future.