Match drawn, though not before "Adil Rashid caused a brief flutter with three quick wickets". See Cricinfo - How and Redmond seal draw

Well, I am very glad that both How and Redmond got runs. I'm racking my brain, trying to think of one successful opening partnership New Zealand have had in the last 10 or 15 years- and I can't. I hope that these two can do good things for the Kiwis.

Otherwise, Marshall's also got some form, Taylor doesn't- but I think he's got enough natural ability that he can regain his best form very quickly. My New Zealand team for the first Test: How, Redmond, Marshall, Taylor, McCullum, Oram, Vettori, Mills, Southee, Patel/O'Brien, Martin. My England team: Cook, Vaughan, Strauss, Pietersen, Bell, Collingwood, Ambrose, Broad, Sidebottom, Hoggard, Panesar.

I can't actually remember a decent pair of openers for New Zealand in my time watching cricket,they have had a couple of good ones in Wright and Richardson but they weren't together.I guess if New Zealand found two guys who could average over 35 they would be regarded as a good pair,hopefully How and Redmond will be the men to do it.

I wouldn't get too excited about this draw and the performances of the players. From what I can tell from the Scorecard and the current weather (very dry and sunny) the pitch looked a batsmans paradise and you'll notice that many of the batsmen from both sides got runs and the only bowlers to really prosper were the spinners.

If the weather and pitches stay as they are (and the next three days forecast in the SE is sun, with sun and showers and cloud on Thursday and Friday) it'll be a battle of the batsmen and Englands batsmen will outbat New Zealands.

Edgar, Wright & Greatbach

Honestly I think if I was managing a small population pool like the Kiwi's, I would be putting Ross Taylor and Brendan McCallum into open with a mandate to score quickly while the feild is up.

Then work it out with a Styris or Oram later.

I think T20 cricket is about to challenge our previous conceptions about test batting. Honestly if a guy can score a century off the first 50 ball's he has already done a considerable amount of damage within a Test match. More than likely a lot more damage than a guy who scores a century in 200 ball's.

I'd hope that any batsman even trying that would last no more than 15 balls in any game fit to be called a Test match.

On a good test pitch the bounce should be at least a little bit variable (even at the start of the game) and the seam should allow the bowler the chance to get significant deviation on the majority of deliveries. Add in even the slightest chance of late swing and anyone (even a Viv Richards clone) looking to play through the line to anything other than a long hop or half volley should be odds on to fail VERY quickly.

I don't mind seeing rank bad balls given the full treatment... but going hard at a good ball should, in Test cricket, be suicidal.

Well Wright and Edgar were an okay pair (probably the best they've ever had) and I'm not sure how Greatbatch went with them, but certainly since then, Horne and Young didn't do anything together (although as individual batsmen their records are acceptable) and Richardson pretty much had to bat alone. Hopefully How and Redmond can change that- after all, they've only been together for one innings, and only a fool would write them off that quickly.

Like Rachael, I can't see how that would work reliably in Test cricket. For starters, there are no fielding restrictions like there are in ODIs, and anyway a quick early wicket could just as easily spark a collapse. Aggression's one thing, mindless slogging another.

Although McCullum and Ryder should hopefully do good things in that mould in the ODIs.

I don't know to what extent. Simon Katich and Shaun Marsh have been very successful so far, as have Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma. All four are quite old-fashioned batsmen, I think, and I can't see them adapting their T20 techniques to first-class cricket, especially if they want to stay in the team by virtue of bug scores.

Perhaps individually. But Symonds getting 100 off 50 might take Australia through to 250, whereas Jacques Kallis scoring 100 off 200 might take his team through to 400.