1.   Breaking pitches still give him some problems, his bat speed is too slow and time remains his biggest enemy.

2.   Jeffrey said that the Merrill Lynch pitch gave him a glimpse of how well Thompson New York could perform when everyone cooperated.

3.   Pitching coach Dave Duncan expects the new pitch to give Veres more flexibility and a lot less predictability.

4.   Any short balls were pulled or cut to the boundary as the pitch gave the bowlers little bounce or pace.

5.   Both teams opted for two spinners after a dry, grassless pitch gave every indication of taking spin.

6.   The pitch gave seam bowlers plenty of help, as did some careless stroke play from batsmen on both sides.

7.   The pitch gave the England seamers some assistance, but they also were helped by some poor shot selection from the New Zealand batsmen.

8.   Both pitches gave excessive help to seam bowling with extravagant movement and bounce.

9.   The greenish pitch gave some help to the bowlers and there was just one partnership of real substance in the day.