By Rob Forsaith
Josh Hazlewood expects Australia will have to work a lot harder to take their next 10 wickets in the first trans-Tasman Test.
Australia will resume at 3-147 on day two of the Wellington clash, having rolled New Zealand for 183 yesterday.
Batting looked incredibly difficult on day one as NZ slumped to 5-51 in the first hour, with Hazlewood striking thrice in his opening spell.
However, the Black Caps' tail then added 86 runs for the final three wickets.
Hazlewood suggested wickets with the new ball would be particularly important as his side seeks to go 1-0 up in the two-Test series.
"The next 10 wickets that we need will be quite tough to get," Hazlewood predicted.
"While the ball is new at any stage it's going to do a little bit.
"Once the shine and the hardness of the ball is gone it's quite a good wicket for batting.
"It didn't turn much and once our ball got older it didn't seam much so I think it's going to hold together pretty well."
Hazlewood hopes he won't need to bowl for a little while, with Usman Khawaja to resume on 57 alongside Adam Voges.
"We're in a pretty good position," the paceman said.
"If we can get another big partnership like we just had and V (Voges) sticks in with Uzzy (Khawaja) and we get past them four down, it will be pretty good."
Voges is on seven, as he was when shouldering arms to a ball that dipped in and clipped off stump in the final over.
Umpire Richard Illingworth saved Voges by signalling no-ball but replays showed Doug Bracewell clearly had some part of his foot behind the line.
"Once his arm goes out there's not much you can do about it. That's cricket. It's the way it goes," NZ offspinner Mark Craig said.
Craig wasn't sure how much the Basin Reserve pitch would turn in the next few days.
"The odd ball straightened but hopefully there's a bit more spin out there as the game wears on," he said.
"Traditionally the wicket quickens up a bit. It's hard to get in on, but once you do you can cash in.
"If we managed to get one or two more wickets at the end it probably would have been parity -- we would have liked a few more runs but the game is nicely advanced now."
NZN