Victory at last

And it is one to be savoured too. Ignore the feeling that this is an end of season blip - that is just the timing talking. This is a comprehensive series victory over a good test side. The fact that it occured during a hurried, late season mongrel of a tour stuffed into the itinerary as a make-up and held during the middle of a week did not matter to the players involved. And those players all contributed - even Kyle Mills. Lou Vincent, Chris Martin and Jimmy Franklin all provided critical contributions but just as importantly they found support at the other end. Lou Vincent would never have reached 224 if it weren't for stolid batting from Franklin, Mills and Wiseman. Martin wouldn't have got 6 wickets in the first innings without pressure at the other end from Astle and Mills, and Franklin's incisive spell in the second innings could not have occurred without water-tight bowling from Astle, Mills and Wiseman. About the only player not to make a significant contribution was Hamish Marshall - and he probably deserved a break.