Johnson defends Gabba pitch

Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson has dismissed suggestions an under-prepared Gabba pitch is to blame for the fall of 26 wickets in the first two days of the first Test against New Zealand.

After posting a first-innings score of 214, the home side rolled the Black Caps for 156 on the eve of tea today only to be reduced to 131 for six by stumps in a day which saw 16 players out.

Damaging storms and heavy rainfall hampered Gabba curator Kevin Mitchell Jnr's opportunities to tend to the wicket in the lead-up to the match, with the covers in place for the majority of the week before.

But Johnson insists the pitch does not have the feel of a typical four-day Sheffield Shield wicket, claiming questionable shot selection and excellent bowling from both sides were to blame for the plethora of wickets.

"Some of the guys commented on the wicket on day one and said it was definitely better than a Shield wicket," he said.

"I just think there's been some good bowling and some bad shots, it's been Test cricket.

"I think they bowled pretty well today and we bowled pretty well also, I don't think it has that Sheffield Shield feel about it.

"There is enough for the bowlers if they get it in the right spots... it's definitely coming on to the bat."

Seamer Mitchell Johnson defended the Gabba pitch after taking 4-30 today

Johnson was unsure what to make of a “busy” day, but felt the advantage was well and truly with the Australians, who boast an overall lead of 189 runs.

"I think we're ahead, so we're in a good position," he said.

"Obviously we'd want to get somewhere around 250, or even more.

"We stuck together as a bowling unit and we're sticking together as a batting team. We still have a lot of batting to go in our order.

"Everyone's pretty positive in the dressing rooms. Obviously we would have liked to have lost fewer wickets, but that's the way things are."

Johnson produced his best Test figures (4-30) and had a golden opportunity to claim a maiden five-wicket haul and a hat-trick when he was bowling to New Zealand number 11 Chris Martin, who has a Test average of 2.38 and 23 ducks to his name.

Stuart Clark wrapped up the Black Caps innings soon after Johnson failed to claim his fifth scalp and the missed chance of personal glory was not lost on the left-arm seamer.

"Yeah, I just can't hit the stumps, that's my problem," he joked.

"This is the second time in a month I've had a chance to get a five-for, I think I just tensed up a little bit again and tried a little too hard.

"It was probably the perfect opportunity to get a hat-trick and a five-for, but it didn't happen."

New Zealand batsman Daniel Flynn praised the fighting attitude of his side after they took six Australia wickets in the final session at the Gabba.

Flynn believes the Black Caps have put themselves in a “great position” to complete an upset victory after ending the second day trailing the hosts by only 189 runs despite a poor first-innings total of 156.

"Obviously we were disappointed with the way that we performed with the bat, but I thought the way the guys came out and turned it around with the ball shows this team has got something about us and we're obviously very happy," Flynn said.

Daniel Flynn was unbeaten on 39 as New Zealand were dismissed for 156

The 23-year-old said his side had not set any goals for day three, but knew they must take quick wickets - a difficult proposition against the world’s top-ranked Test side.

"We haven't really set any targets as of yet, there's a lot of time left in the game, the priority is to take those four wickets and then see where we're at from there," he said.

"We know they're a quality side. They're not going to give their wickets to us.

"Get that out of the way and obviously they knocked us over for 156, so we know there's a lot of work to be done."

Flynn showed plenty of determination in his unbeaten knock of 39 - a quality sorely missing in a number of his team-mates' innings.

Ross Taylor (40), Jesse Ryder (39) and Jamie How (14) were the only other batsmen to make it into double figures for the Black Caps, but Flynn reckons it was more a case of the Australians bowling well than the New Zealanders batting poorly.

"I tried to remain pretty patient and play the ball as late as possible," he said.

"I think a lot of the guys got a couple of good nuts, and that's unfortunate, but it happens.

"If you put the ball in the right areas consistently, you're going to do well and that's what Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson did for them."

However, Flynn knows the New Zealand top order must show much more substance in the second innings if they hope to claim a win.

"We know there's a lot of hard work to do though, and once we get those four wickets, there's a big job ahead of us, in particular the top six,” he said.

"It's time for us to front up and show we're worthy of our spots in the side.

"We're there to score runs and that’s our job. We didn’t do that today. We were in a great position. The bowlers did a great job on the first day and we let them down."