Aaron Redmond's 83 helped New Zealand reach 262-6 after choosing to bat first in the second Test against Australia.
Opener headlines solid effort by New Zealand's batsmen
Second Test MatchAdelaideNew Zealand 262-6 (A J Redmond 83) v Australia
New Zealand reached 262-6 after choosing to bat first on the opening day of the second Test against Australia in Adelaide.
Opening batsman Aaron Redmond led the way with an aggressive 83 although several of his colleagues were guilty of gifting away their wickets after getting in.
Redmond hit 14 fours and two sixes during a 125-ball knock before being denied a maiden Test century by off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, who was recalled by Australia after four years in the international wilderness.
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori called correctly at the toss and made the straightforward decision to give his batsmen first use of a typically flat Adelaide Oval wicket.
Platform
The tourists lost just one wicket during the morning session. Jamie How (16) edged behind off left-arm seamer Mitchell Johnson (1-54) after chasing a wide delivery to end an opening stand of 46.
Number three Jesse Ryder was content to play a supporting role as Redmond regularly found the boundary to complete an 80-ball half-century, bringing up the landmark with consecutive sixes off Hauritz, whose first three overs disapperared for 29 runs.
The Black Caps went to lunch well placed on 101-1 but Hauritz (2-63), picked after Jason Krejza failed to come through a fitness test on his injured ankle, stalled their progress with a double strike in early afternoon.
Ryder (13) was brilliantly caught by Michael Clarke at midwicket after latching onto a short delivery, while Redmond holed out to Andrew Symonds on the leg-side boundary attempting to clear the rope with a slog-sweep, having twice previously succeeded.
Hauritz's rollercoaster day took a turn for the worse when he injured his ankle while attempting to stop the ball in the outfield. He was helped off the ground and missed most of the final session.
Rebuilding
Ross Taylor, caught off a Brett Lee no ball when on five, and Peter Fulton steadied the innings with a fourth-wicket alliance of 64 in 21.5 overs before Fulton fell just before tea, pulling a short ball from Symonds (1-17) to Simon Katich at midwicket.
And when Taylor (44) and Daniel Flynn (11) followed early in the final session, New Zealand had slumped to 228-6 and were in danger of wasting their earlier good work.
Taylor was a touch unlucky to be adjudged lbw by Stuart Clark (1-56), replays indicating the ball would have cleared the stumps, although there was no doubt about Flynn's dismissal - bowled via the pad by Lee (1-60).
But vice captain Brendon McCullum (30no) and his skipper Vettori (12no) fought back in the final hour, adding an unbroken 34 to see their side through to the close without further loss.
Australia lead the two-match series after winning the opening Test by 149 runs in Brisbane.
