The good, the bad and the Akmals

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New Zealand and Pakistan huffed and puffed but neither could blow the house down.

Two good bowling sides had the wood over limited batsmen but for the greater part it was an entertaining test series played in the right spirit.

Throughout the years Pakistan have been a nuisance on the field and trouble off it.

This one made a lot of appeals and dropped 17 catches yet played some fine cricket and should be commended for being the most accommodating major-playing nation to tour here in some time.

The flying Akmal brothers are good to watch and hard to bowl to. The younger Umar plays on a knife-edge but when he gets going there are few better to watch.

He faces a tougher test in Australia but our friends across the Tasman are not what they were – certainly not with the ball – and Umar has the potential to announce himself in a high-profile environment.

Umar topped the run-scoring across both teams with 379 runs at an average of 63.16. Kamran plays the percentages better and is the glue that holds Pakistan together in the field and with the bat.

A drawn series was the right outcome.

New Zealand might feel otherwise, given they had the third test in the bag until the weather gods conspired against them, but there was nothing between the sides.

A lot is being made of BJ Watling's encouraging debut. Daniel Vettori has been singing Watling's praises for a while, and he is another Northern Districts livewire like Hamish Marshall.

Watling looks to have solid foundations – fine temperament, good defence and a range of scoring shots. Far more limited types have opened occasionally for New Zealand in the past decade.

The jury remains out on Tim McIntosh and Daniel Flynn and to some degree Martin Guptill, but there is no doubting Ross Taylor's advance. His mentoring by Martin Crowe should in time iron out some of his rough edges.

New Zealand have a conundrum to sort out with Vettori. His batting statistics this year (779 runs at 59.92) suggest he is good enough to be used at No6 but it leaves the team too light on batting. He should be used only on flat wickets so the bowlers can share the workload.

Vettori is a dominant selector and his thinking on the situation is as follows: "I still prefer to go in with six batsmen and four bowlers [meaning he would stay at No8], but we need a couple of those batters to bowl – the likes of Jesse Ryder or Grant Elliott, if they are fit," Vettori said.

"I'm sure that will be debated with the other selectors, but the option for me to go there is there, and if it's needed, I will."

The heroes of this series were the bowlers. Iain O'Brien (15 wickets at 29.86) and Mohammad Asif (19 at 19.78) did the donkey work for their sides. Asif looked shot in Napier but O'Brien still had a kick in him.

O'Brien leaves a big hole. His stocks have never been higher and whatever you make of his decision to quit international cricket, his story remains a fine one because he got the best out of himself.

Six months ago he was dropped from the limited-overs squad because he kept deviating from the bowling gameplan but he has always looked far more comfortable playing the longer form of the game.

New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum feels O'Brien is leaving in his prime. "He probably got quicker as he went on, and some of the spells he's bowled in the latter part of his career have been devastating.

"He was the guy that you'd say would always give you the energy and the effort you require. His contribution has been immense."

Shane Bond hinted at something special before bowing out with injury, Chris Martin and Daryl Tuffey were solid but Tim Southee has returned looking reliant on generating speed from his arms rather than also bending his back.

Vettori copped some for not spinning New Zealand to victory on the featherbed in Napier. That is not his game and McLean Park has no time for finger spinners.

Vettori's workload has spiralled out of control. He is looking forward to a fortnight's rest and his first Christmas with family in 12 years.

- © Fairfax NZ News