Wellington, Apr 2 : New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori is disappointed with the pitch for the third Test against India, as he was hoping for a more greener wicket.

Vettori was hoping for a pitch that offered his fast bowlers genuine assistance, as the home side seeks to draw the series, but the colour of the wicket was not to his liking when the covers were removed today.

Wellington, Apr. 2 : Jesse Ryder has been officially declared New Zealand''s number one Test batsman.

According to a Dominion Post report, Ryder''s magnificent 201 in Napier, on the back of his equally controlled century in Hamilton, has catapulted his world ranking to 30 after just eight tests.

Averaging 64 in Test cricket, Ryder yesterday inked a long-term sponsorship deal with Gray Nicolls to add to his lucrative IPL contract.

Wellington  - Six Filipino immigrants will keep their jobs at a New Zealand factory despite a row that broke out after 28 local workers were made redundant, news reports said Thursday.

The immigrants were recruited by MCK Metals Pacific Ltd of Bell Block in Taranaki province in October 2007 to do specialized aluminium welding and polishing after the company was unable to get skilled New Zealand workers to fill the vacancies.

Wellington, Apr. 2 : Double-sided bats are here to stay, but Kiwi batsman Jesse Ryder isn't too taken up with the idea of using it.

New sponsor Gray Nicolls handed Test batsman Jesse Ryder the jazzy bat, invented for hitting reverse sweeps with the back of the bat''s flat surface, and some space-age helmets yesterday.

Gray Nicolls'' Cameron Black said the bats had caused a stir in Australia after David Warner hit Australian team-mate Shaun Tait on to the roof of the Adelaide Oval using the back of the bat.

Wellington, Apr. 2: ICC President David Morgan and Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat on Thursday met the board of New Zealand Cricket as part of their ongoing process of information sharing with Members.

The two-hour meeting in Wellington was the third of its kind for the pair, in the country as part of the ICC’s centenary celebrations, having caught up with the boards of Cricket Australia in Melbourne and Cricket South Africa in Johannesburg in February.

Wellington  - The United Chinese Association of New Zealand, an umbrella group representing 28 organizations, wants the government to refuse the Dalai Lama a visa for a proposed visit in December, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

Prime Minister John Key has already said he would meet the 73- year-old Tibetan spiritual leader when he visits Auckland, calling him a "significant visitor," the New Zealand Herald reported.