On Sunday, Mark Richardson, who thought his chance had disappeared when he was out seven runs short on Thursday, became the 11th.

The gritty left-hander, who wins minimum marks for style but maximum points for effect, ground out 101 from 309 balls to ensure his team retain an even chance of winning the match.

Due largely to Richardson, New Zealand reached 336 to set England a victory target of 282. At the close the home side were eight without loss.

In all the opener has batted for more than 13 hours, seemingly leaving the ball as often as he plays it.

"I am very pleased to be sitting here explaining 100 not 90," Richardson said with a smile at a news conference. "I didn't ever imagine I would get two shots in the one game."

Richardson, 32, has transformed himself from a left-arm spinner who lost his control to one of the most effective openers in world cricket.

He averaged 46.32 before this Test, easily the highest in the New Zealand side, and is the only Kiwi to feature regularly in the rankings for the world's top 10 batsmen.

England fast bowler Steve Harmison, who created havoc among the West Indies' left-handers in the Caribbean this year, paid tribute to the adhesive Kiwi after finishing with his second four-wicket haul of the match.

"Bowling outside off-stump to Richardson is just a waste of time," he said. "I have never played against somebody who leaves the ball so well."

DOUR AND MISERABLE

On Thursday, Richardson wryly described his first innings as dour and miserable.

This time round he said he had been determined not to follow up a good performance with a bad one.

"I tried to attack when I could," he said. "I'm disappointed at not going out and absorbing some pressure straight after tea. I got out and I think I exposed our tail to some unnecessary pressure."

"In saying that, I felt when I went out to bat after tea I just wasn't there emotionally."

"It's great to get a hundred but the timing of it just before tea, I think coming in and walking through the long room, getting applauded by team mates and then not playing for 20 minutes probably wasn't great. That's probably why I got out."

Richardson added: "There will be a result in this game and I think it will come in the last session."

"That's how it should be. I think this is how all cricket should be played, a chase of between 280 and 300 on the last day, having bowled a team out to get that chase and then a result in the last session."

Scorecard:

New Zealand first innings 386 (M.Richardson 93, C.Cairns 82, J.Oram 67, N.Astle 64; S.Harmison 4-126)

England first innings 441 (A.Strauss 112, M.Trescothick 86, A.Flintoff 63)

New Zealand second innings (overnight 134-1)
M.Richardson c G.Jones b Harmison 101
S.Fleming c Hussain b Harmison 4
B.McCullum c G.Jones b S.Jones 96
S.Styris c Hussain b Giles 4
C.McMillan c Hussain b Giles 0
J.Oram run out (Hussain) 4
N.Astle c G.Jones b Harmison 49
C.Cairns c Butcher b Giles 14
D.Vettori c G.Jones b Harmison 5
D.Tuffey not out 14
C.Martin b Flintoff 7
Extras (b-14 lb-16 nb-8) 38
Total (all out, 121.1 overs) 336

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-180, 3-187, 4-187, 5-203, 6-287, 7-290, 8-304, 9-310

Bowling: Harmison 29-8-76-4, Flintoff 16.1-5-40-1, Hoggard 14-3-39-0 (5-nb), S.Jones 23-5-64-1 (3-nb), Giles 39-8-87-3

England second innings
M.Trescothick not out 1
A.Strauss not out 6
Extras (nb-1) 1
Total (for no wicket, 5 overs) 8

Bowling (to date): Oram 2-1-3-0 (1-nb), Tuffey 2-1-5-0, Vettori 1-1-0-0