New Zealand: looking up

There might not have been a positive conclusion one way or another, but the first Test did prove that we are in for a competitive series. And given the tourists' performance it might well be more competitive than a lot of people, myself included, imagined. That said I still think England will win.

Mike Atherton
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The weather may have been the only real winner in the first Test, but New Zealand will definitely be the happier of the two sides.

Daniel Vettori lost a crucial toss in very good bowling conditions, but they came through those testing times early on and in the end, it was they and not England, who were pushing for victory.

That in itself was a minor triumph, but it takes on even greater significance when you look at the side they had out - full of young and inexperienced players - and they will be absolutely delighted they came through all that.

There might not have been a positive conclusion one way or another, but the first Test did prove that we are in for a competitive series. And given the tourists' performance it might well be more competitive than a lot of people, myself included imagined.

That said I still think England will win. They ought to win. If they don't there will be some serious questions asked, but perhaps the extra pace and bounce we are expecting at Old Trafford might just suit Michael Vaughan's men.

Whatever the conditions, it will be another stiff test of the New Zealanders' credentials, particularly those younger players who by and large, did so well at Lord's.

We saw a bit of Jamie How in the winter and he looked a decent player, but we'd seen nothing of Aaron Redmond or Daniel Flynn. Redmond didn't have a particularly good game but Flynn looked very well-organised and a player worth investing a bit of time and faith in.

He played really well under pressure on that last day for a patient 29 because believe me, with Brendon McCullum's injury, the pressure really was on.

Wonderful

Daniel Vettori will have been pleased with his own performance as well. We know he's a top-class performer but he's been short of practice and preparation and had only bowled 11 overs going into the match. For him to bowl so well - and pick up the Man of the Match award - was wonderful really.

As for his opposite number, he just needed runs really. Michael Vaughan's place was never ever under threat, but there were just one or two whispers circulating about his form and he needed to silence those whispers.

The only way to do that was by scoring runs and he did just that. They might not be the best runs he'll ever notch up and he might not have played as well as he can, but he scored a century at Lord's and that was very important in the context of the game.

As an England captain, you are always under greater scrutiny when your form drops off. That is just the way it is and some people cope better than others and have a nack of putting all the speculation and pressure to one side. I think Michael Vaughan is very good at coping with that; he's a very calm, unflappable lad and he doesn't read too much of the negative publicity that goes around. But, he will know how crucial that century was.

The other major positive for England was the opening partnership of 121 between Alistair Cook and Andrew Strauss but once again the middle order let them down. To be fair, they have been under-performing for some time now and I think that has to be the next focus for England.

If we in the media tend to focus on an area, then the form of Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell, will be well and truly under the spotlight as we head to Manchester. England have got to get them firing again.

Loyalty

I do think we will see exactly the same side as well. Chris Tremlett has been added to the 12 because of the bouncy pitch at Old Trafford, but I don't think England will want to change the attack - or the team.

There is always a question as to whether Tremlett's body can get through five days without injury and more importantly, they will want to show loyalty to that bowling attack. As a unit they didn't bowl as well as they might have, but they didn't bowl badly either. There's certainly no reason for anyone to be dropped.

One area of concern, given the infamous Manchester weather, will be the question of bad light. After that Friday at Lord's when the players were off and on, in front of a full house, I do think it is something the authorities have to look at.

It was just a ridiculous situation going on and off all the time and it is kind of anti to the way modern sport is going; which is basically to entertain and take into account that people have paid good money at the gate.

How they tackle it I don't know. Whether they just leave it to the umpires to make the decision and take it out of the players' hands or whether, because of the better protection, more can be done to stay out in bad light, I don't know.

There are other issues to look at such as the use of floodlights and pink balls, but whatever the solution, we just can't keep having those days where the players keep going on and off. You can't blame the players either because they just focus on what's best for them and what's best for their team in these situations.

It is a problem I have become more aware of since moving up to the commentary box, but it is something that needs to be looked at.