Black Caps take charge

Daryl Tuffey took two wickets as New Zealand took the honours on a shortened first day of the second Test against Pakistan.

Tuffey takes two wickets on first Test appearance since 2004

Second Test Match
Wellington
Pakistan 161-6 v New Zealand Daryl Tuffey marked his return to Test cricket with two wickets as New Zealand took the honours on a shortened first day of the second Test against Pakistan in Wellington. Replacing the injured Shane Bond, Tuffey took two wickets for 32 runs - his first in the five-day game since an appearance against England in June 2004. Captain Daniel Vettori meanwhile finished the day, which started late and finished early, with three for 42 as Pakistan ended on 161 for six at the Basin Reserve. Pakistan made steady verging on slow progress once play got underway as openers Imran Farhat and Salman Butt put on 60 runs in 32.2 overs for the first wicket. But the Black Caps made the breakthrough in the half-hour before tea when Butt, Farhat and then Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf all fell in rapid succession. Iain O'Brien, who had changed ends after bowling into the wind, broke the opening stand when Butt (29), who had replaced Khurram Manzoor at the top of the order, top-edged a rising delivery to Tuffey at mid-on. Vettori then took two wickets in three balls, with Farhat (32) edging a delivery to Ross Taylor in the slips before Yousuf was trapped lbw two balls later without scoring. Teenager Umar Akmal, who starred on his Test debut in Dunedin with a century and a half century, and Misbah-ul-Haq then took Pakistan to 90-3 at tea.

Punishment

After a shaky start, Umar soon opened up and slog-swept Vettori for six as he moved on to 20 at the break. The recalled Misbah made eight by tea, handing out the same punishment to the opposing skipper two overs earlier with a blow into the stands over long-on. The pair put on 53 runs before Umar became the first of Tuffey's two scalps, the 19-year-old ending four runs short of a second successive half-century when he edged a delivery onto his stumps. Tuffey soon claimed a second when Shoaib Malik drove straight to Vettori at mid-off to leave Pakistan struggling on 131-5. Misbah and Kamran Akmal added 25 more runs before Vettori struck for a third time, trapping the former lbw as he attempted a slog sweep. The 35-year-old asked for the decision of umpire Simon Taufel to be reviewed and it was upheld - Misbah departing having made 21. Just two more overs were completed before bad light forced the teams from the field.

Concerns

Earlier, concerns about the players' run-ups on the sodden turf plus problems with the pitch logos following days of wet weather meant the start was delayed. Taufel and fellow umpire Rudi Koertzen called for the toss at 12.15pm, with play supposed to begin half-an-hour later but both captains still felt the run-ups were too dangerous. Play eventually got underway at 2.10pm and although Vettori won the toss, his side got little help from the pitch until O'Brien's breakthrough. Pakistan made three changes for the match, with Butt in for Manzoor, Fawad Alam axed for Misbah and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria replacing off-spinner Saeed Ajmal. Kamran Akmal will resume day two in Wellington on 21 and Mohammad Aamer on two.