Jeetan Patel believes a deteriorating pitch offers New Zealand hope of forcing a victory over England in the first Test.
Spinner attempts to turn first Test in favour of the home side
Jeetan Patel believes a deteriorating pitch offers New Zealand hope of forcing a victory over England in the first Test.
The tourists finished day three of the series opener in Hamilton on 286-6, still 184 behind the Kiwis' first-innings total of 470.
Runs certainly proved hard to come by for England, who managed just 199 in the day and are going along at a rate of just above two-an-over.
Their go-slow policy means the Black Caps are still in the driving seat and although a draw still looks the most likely result, Patel remains confident of a home win.
Wearing wicket
"It's a good wicket, it's starting to get really flat now," he told Sky Sports.
"There are some areas that are starting to turn big, which is exciting for us, while there are some areas that are starting to go up and down.
"There's still two days left in the match, the wicket is wearing pretty badly. As we've shown, if you bowl straight you can get wickets.
"Hopefully Dan (Vettori) and I can string a few together and get some wickets ourselves."
Off-spinner Patel played his part in bogging the batsmen down, bowling 35 overs and dismissing visiting captain Michael Vaughan for 63.
Pace
The 27-year-old combined with skipper Daniel Vettori to frustrate England despite the lack of bounce and pace in the Seddon Park surface.
"Because it's slow turn you want to bowl at a quicker pace," Patel said. "I think you can draw players into playing shots by doing that.
"I know Dan started going that way and you've always got that option to go down (in speed)."
