Sideline Sid - Sports blogger Sideline Sid is a local sport fanatic. Not only is he a classic rugby bloke but he has views, opinions and knowledge on all sports played in the Bay of Plenty.

Sideline Sid has been missing in action for the first couple of days this week – with urgent business to attend to in Hamilton. Hence this week's contribution is a day and a half late.

Being a cricket tragic, the lure of a test match just over the hill in Mooloo country was too much to resist. So early Monday morning the car was packed with all the essentials for watching a test match of folding chairs, chilly bins, floppy hats and sunscreen.

The vast majority of cricket watchers in the modem era seem to prefer either the one-day game or the smash and bash of Twenty20, where each day/game finishes with a result.

To the cricket purists (nuts) there is only one real game – Test Cricket. For me the cut and thrust of (up to) five days of cricket, albeit without a result at the end of each day's play, except the last, is what test match cricket is about.

While the end of day two in the Hamilton test saw New Zealand well in control against Bangladesh, who are one of world crickets minnows, there was plenty of drama and action on the first two days.

After two sessions on the opening day, Bangladesh held a slight advantage with the Black Caps having lost five wickets. They were bowling with real enthusiasm and their pace attack were fired up.

However, the momentum of the game changed when Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum came together in a sixth wicket partnership. The cricket statisticians were in seventh heaven as a myriad of records and milestones were set by the pair.

While there was a truckload of cricket records broken during the partnership, the 339 for the sixth wicket, was the third highest of all time. Notably it was just seven runs behind the legendary Don Bradman (and Jack Fingleton) for Australia against England in 1937.

It was outstanding to have a seat in the ground to watch one of the special achievements of New Zealand cricket unfold. While there was a meagre crowd, where the personnel who were working at the ground came close to outnumbering the spectators, it was a special two days in New Zealand cricket.

While at the test I managed to solve a puzzle that has been nagging me for nearly 12 months. At last year's Indian test against the Black Caps, we were sitting metres from an older gentleman who had stream of well known cricket personalities visit during the day.

It was obvious that he was a former player of some standing. I went home rueing that I didn't go and find out who the gentleman was. I couldn't believe my luck when the said gentleman (and his wife) again sat alongside us on Monday.

I made sure that my curiosity was satisfied this time as I introduced myself. The gentleman turned out to be none other than Roger Harris, who was an institution in first class cricket in the country for nearly two decades.

A look at Cricinfo on arrival home, told the tale of Roger's two tests, 73 first class games where he scored 3863 runs and four of the then new one-day games.

Chatting to him over two days gave an indication of how long he was on the first class scene. He said that at the start on his first class career in 1955, he played with or against eight of the New Zealand team that toured England in 1949 – and at the conclusion in 1973/74 season, he was locking horns with the likes of Richard Hadlee and Glen Turner

Seeya at the Game.