Another baptism by pace

Will he or won't he? Shoaib Akhtar's prospects of playing in the deciding second Test between New Zealand and Pakistan Test at the Basin Reserve on Boxing Day is another element thrown into the mix in the lead-up to the match. After Pakistan's outstanding recovery on the last afternoon of the first Test - a recovery which didn't result in much as the weather brought an early end to the game - New Zealand were left contemplating their possible defence mechanism against a combined pace attack of Akhtar and Mohammad Sami.

However, with Pakistan teams, selection matters are never straightforward issues. Their last tour to New Zealand in 2000-01 was buffeted by dissension in the ranks with Wasim Akram and Saeed Anwar heading home midway through the tour, while Javed Miandad was hardly flavour of the month as coach. So it is not surprising that contradictory comments should come out of their camp before the second Test. Inzamam-ul-Haq announced after the first Test that Shoaib would play at Wellington, while Miandad said there was still doubt.

Doubt is what will be in the New Zealand batsmen's minds as they prepare for the match. Sami created havoc with sheer speed on a benign pitch, and it was only a rearguard action by Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori that stopped the slide down the slippery slope. New Zealand's only excuse was that the result of the match was already a foregone conclusion, but it was an indictment of the players' preparations that they were allowed to be lulled into that sort of thinking.

John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach, would have recognised the signs - they have been all too familiar throughout New Zealand's history - and some hard talking is certain to have been dished out alongside the usual fare on Christmas Day.

There are several New Zealand batsmen with a job ahead of them to restore their batting credibility at Wellington. Lou Vincent has not recovered the touch he showed in the Test matches in India. Scott Styris needs to be able to stay longer in the middle order and to assess the requirement as the match proceeds. Chris Cairns needs a long session in the middle to regain his best batting touch, while Craig McMillan needs to repeat his performances in India.

The bowling is under similar scrutiny. Cairns struggled in Hamilton, clearly short of long bowling stints. Although Ian Butler came back strongly in the later stages of Pakistan's innings, the team needs him to be firing from the outset.

Miandad may have been critical of Stephen Fleming's captaincy in his post-Test comments, but that smacked of Miandad's penchant for gamesmanship. His own side was much less inspiring in the field in New Zealand's first innings, and the bowling was quite aimless.

As always at Wellington, the weather, especially the strong winds, will be a factor. The fast bowlers need to be prepared to put in plenty of overs running into the breeze, something that Daryl Tuffey, Cairns and Oram all have the capacity to do. Pakistan will have the task of deciding who their workhorse is going to be. That decision may be one of the more crucial choices in the overall outcome of the match. Speed downwind could help Shoaib and Sami in their quest for pace, but it will need to be well backed up from the other end.

The weather forecast for Wellington suggests that this Test will also be interrupted by rain. Showers are forecast for the first afternoon, and more rain is expected later in the match.

New Zealand (from) 1 Mark Richardson, 2 Lou Vincent, 3 Stephen Fleming (capt), 4 Scott Styris, 5 Craig McMillan, 6 Chris Cairns, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Robbie Hart (wk), 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Paul Wiseman, 11 Daryl Tuffey, 12 Ian Butler.

Pakistan (from) 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Taufeeq Umar, 3 Yasir Hameed, 4 Yousuf Youhana, 5 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Moin Khan (wk), 8 Mohammad Sami, 9 Shabbir Ahmed, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Danish Kaneria, 12 Shoaib Akhtar.