Pietersen Century Spares England

You can't win a Test match in the first session. But you can lose it. A beaming Michael Vaughan won the toss here on a pitch, which was expected to produce a harvest of runs. He didn't smile again all day. But for Kevin Pietersen he would have been fielding for much of it.

Pietersen struck his eleventh Test century, advancing smoothly, belligerent yet controlled, on a day when the rest of England's batsmen were grossly incompetent. Without Pietersen the series would already be over. Now that he has reached his first century of a previously barren winter, there remains a glimmer of hope. Even so the close of play score, 240-7 is way below par.

However that represents something of a recovery given that England were 4-3 after half an hour's play - a calamitous start against one of the most inexperienced seam attacks that New Zealand have fielded for years.

Tim Southee was making his Test debut. Before the match Vaughan pointed out that his team would ensure that they would be pressurizing the newcomers. Southee took 17 wickets at an average of 6 in the recent U-19 World Cup. But surely he would notice the difference in Napier? No, not really.

In Southee's second over a full length delivery thudded into Vaughan's left pad and the England captain was on his way back to the bowels of the rugby stand before Umpire Koertzen pendulum arm had reached it's highest point. An opening batsman of Vaughan's class and record should not have missed such a delivery. Vaughan is starting to resemble the wayward curate again rather than the cavalier Tyke professional, who tamed the Aussies all those years ago.

In Southee's next over Andrew Strauss went for a cover drive to open his account. He could only slice to gully, the shot of a man at odds with his game. Strauss has done nothing to justify his recall to the team on this tour - except catching reliably at first slip. It feels as if he requires a second innings century in Napier to retain his place when England resume their struggles against New Zealand in May.

Chris Martin, swapping his line of attack cleverly, bowled Alastair Cook off the inside edge and pad, another cheap wicket and England were 4-3. Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood loitered for longer, but will have the odd nightmare at their dismissals.

Bell contrived to be defeated by a long hop from Grant Eliot, another debutant, who cannot anticipate such a long Test career as Southee - he's 29, for a start, and no more than an honest trundler. The South African born all-rounder gratefully snatched the return catch.

Collingwood, at least, hinted at some fluency before slicing a wide off-break from Jeetan Patel to cover point. A better delivery saw Tim Ambrose caught in the gully. Yes, a gully for an off-break bowler, which confirms that the ball was not turning. It hadn't been seaming, either. The prognostications about this pitch were not wrong. It's just that no one quite anticipated that England's batsmen, all of whom average around 40, could bat so ineptly.

So Pietersen held the innings together as best he could. It all looked very straightforward for him, though even his dismissal was culpable. He drove loosely against the second new ball and Southee had his third Test wicket.

Here was a fine time for Stuart Broad to confirm his batting prowess, which he managed in the final session. He was watchful against the spinners while in partnership with Pietersen and more aggressive against the new ball. Once he hooked Southee fine for six, just to keep the youngster in his place.

The New Zealanders could not believe their luck. Daniel Vettori had shuffled his attack shrewdly, though he could not find a wicket for himself even after a few anguished pleas for lbw against Pietersen. Nonetheless on Saturday night Vettori was a happy man in charge of a young side playing purposeful cricket. Vaughan wasn't.