2nd test preview

It is a very, very gloomy morning here in Wellington. Mist has sunk to sea level and the forecast is for the gloom to remain. Its not actually raining at the moment, but the forecast is for southerly winds (and for our foreign friends it might be useful to point out that the south where our southerlies comes from is covered in ice and penguins), some rain and continuing low cloud. This weather is set to continue for the weekend, with things beginning to pick up on Sunday afternoon. This means I would be unlikely to post much about the cricket even if I were going to be here. Which I am not. You see, I have picked this weekend to start my summer holiday. Perfect.

Cricket looks unlikely, but not impossible, today. Days like this in Wellington usually end one of three ways. Either the wind stays low and the gloom and mist hangs around, the southerly picks up and we get real rain for a while but the mist disperses - or the wind picks up and shifts direction and the mist disappears into a sunny day. The forecast would seem to indicate that we are in for option two - southerlies and a period of rain. And if that were to happen then expect a delayed start with the possibility of some cricket this afternoon.

Apart from the weather there is not too much for me to say. Peter English has said a little in Cricinfo - but he doesn't add much if you have already heard the news that Paul Wiseman might come into the New Zealand side. And I actually suggest you don't read this article unless you absolutely have too, because English makes the horrendous error of saying New Zealand has never beaten Australia at the Basin, forgetting the classic test of 1989/90 - played, incidently, in weather very similar to this.