Gough's haul completes Kiwis' mauling

SECOND TEST: Somerset paceman celebrates successful return in front of England board chief

reports from the Basin Reserve, Wellington

New Zealand 124 England 20-1

Darren Gough took the second five-wicket haul of his Test career as England bowled New Zealand out for 124, 40 minutes before lunch on the second day of the second Test here today.

It was Gough's best return since the Sydney Test two winters ago, when he first rose to prominence as a bustling fast bowler who wore his heart on his sleeve. Little has changed apart form his action, and his 5 for 48 took in the cream of New Zealand's order, including the freescoring Nathan Astle.

Astle is one of those players rarely cowed into playing anything but his natural game, and his team's plight did not prevent him merrily swishing his bat at anything outside the line of off-stump.

It can look a fortuitous way to bat and he twice flashed streaky fours off Gough that somehow found gaps in the gully. Gough, though, has a happy knack of pulling white rabbits from flat hats and when Astle was on 36, he clubbed the Yorkshireman to mid-off, where Robert Croft clung on to a stinging catch.

Two balls later, Gough struck once again, this time removing Simon Doull, whose mindless waft summed up the desultory manner in which the majority of the New Zealand players have approached their batting here.

Only Dipak Patel played with the application demanded by Test cricket, an approach that makes him the world's handiest number eight and he was New Zealand's top scorer with 45, a feat Ladbrokes were offering 66-1 against when the innings began.

Once again Andy Caddick bowled well without reward, and he regularly passed the outside edge with his booming outswingers. He did, however, get Patel, the last man out, to round off a very satisfying comeback for a man who, until this match, had been overlooked by England on this tour. Patel skied to Dominic Cork - who had previously removed Geoff Allott with an outswinger - at mid-off.

It left England with an awkward half an hour to bat before the lunch interval, a period that Nick Knight failed to negotiate when he loosely steered a delivery from Doull to Patel in the gully.

First day's play, page 24

SECOND DAY SCOREBOARD

New Zealand won toss

NEW ZEALAND - First Innings

(Overnight: 56 for 6)

N J Astle c Croft b Gough 36

D N Patel c Cork b Caddick 45

S B Doull c Stewart b Doull 0

G I Allott c Knight b Cork 1

D L Vettori not out 3

Extras (lb5, nb2) 7

Total (48.3 overs) 124

Fall (cont): 7-85 (Astle), 8-85 (Doull), 9-109 (Allott), 10-124 (Patel).

Bowling: Cork 14-4-34-1; Caddick 18.3-5-45-4; Gough 16-6-40-5.

ENGLAND - First Innings

N V Knight c Patel b Doull 8

*M A Atherton not out 7

A J Stewart not out 5

Total (for 1, 6 overs) 20

Fall: 1-10 (Knight).

To Bat: N Hussain, G P Thorpe, J P Crawley, R D B Croft, D G Cork, D Gough, A R Caddick, P C R Tufnell.

Bowling: Doull 3-1-7-1; Allott 3-0-13-0.

Umpires: S A Bucknor and D B Cowie. TV replay umpire: E A Watkin. Match referee: P J P Burge.