New Zealand v England: Tourists need to win before they laugh at Australia Unless the pitch looks as if it will spin early, and most drop-ins do not because they must be solid and compact or damp and pliable when they are dropped in or they crack, a spinner could prove an expensive luxury given the closeness of some boundaries. On the other hand batsmen tempted into hitting Monty Panesar or Bruce Martin for six would have to take risks so wickets might arise that way. To protect the straight Lilliputian boundaries in the one-day series, England's faster bowlers forced New Zealand's batsmen to hit square of the wicket by banging it in short of a length. In Test cricket, that is a keep-it-tight length not a wicket-taking one, which tends to be full or bouncer short depending on whether seam, swing or pace is your forte. At Eden Park, those two lengths are made more vulnerable by the short boundaries, the first to the drive or lofted drive, the second to the slash and ramp shots that could easily go for six over the slips. The pitch should offer seam movement while the ball is new but thereafter it could be hard work for the bowlers. The lack of a square (the pitch sits in well-grassed outfield) diminishes the chances of reverse swing as there is no bare turf, which most squares have, to wear the ball. It may still be possible, due to the abrasions from the drop-in pitch, but it could take far longer to achieve. It is certainly something that will be discussed when the bowlers have their pre-match meeting with David Saker, as James Anderson, now over the aches and pains suffered in Wellington following a three-day break, confirmed. "It could be difficult to defend," said Anderson, who knows better than most that it is not always about attack. We thought that the one-day pitch here could have produced 350-400 runs because the surface was good and the boundaries were short, but Test cricket is different. Dunedin was a really small ground. It is something we will probably discuss. Anderson, who appears to have counted each of the 28 overs he bowled into the Wellington wind last weekend, needs five more wickets to reach the 300 mark that separates the greats from the good. The back and ankle niggles that hampered him there are part of a pace bowler's reality, and one he knows he must accept them if he is to become the first England bowler to breach the 400-mark, something achieved by seven pace bowlers from other countries. "A lot has been made about the niggles bowlers get but we are being managed really well with rest and targeted training and I don't see why I can't carry on for a few years," said Anderson. Four hundred Test wickets is reachable. I would need to carry on playing for a number of years and to stay in the team, which means I will need to keep taking wickets, but I would hope I will get somewhere near it if I do keep playing. One man just beginning his career who could play an outcome in this deciding Test match, is Doug Bracewell, who missed the first two Tests after cutting his foot at a party. Bracewell, who has taken 46 Test wickets in 15 matches, was added to New Zealand's squad on Wednesday night after completing 10 overs in a one-day match against the Canterbury Wizards. His uncle, John Bracewell, once played a major role in winning a Test against England in 1986 by scoring 110 and taking three for 29, and it is not beyond his nephew to be among the wickets too, providing he gets picked and the pitch offers some seam movement.