Hamilton (New Zealand), Mar. 20 : New Zealand fast bowler Chris Martin is of the view that except for Indian opener Virender Sehwag, most batters respect a decent ball when it is delivered to them.

"Bowling to the likes of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar was not as daunting. Most of the players will respect a decent ball apart from Sehwag," a smiling Martin said.

Martin, who has played 46 Tests for New Zealand, is featuring in his first series against India.

London, March 20 : A rare three-eyed lizard, which has lineage dating back to the dinosaur age, has been found in Wellington, New Zealand.

According to a report by Sky News, the reptile known as a baby `Tuatara,' has three eyes, but is said to mostly resemble a lizard.

It was found by staff at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, but until then had not been spotted in the country for around 200 years.

Tuatara measure up to 80cm when fully grown and can live for up to 60 years.

Wellington  - New Zealand's Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits centre was ordered Friday to pay 480,000 New Zealand dollars (268,800 US dollars) in fines and compensation after six students and their teacher died in a flooded canyon.

The centre admitted charges that it failed to ensure the safety of a group from Auckland's Elim Christian College whose members were swept to their deaths April 15 in the Mangatepopo Gorge near Turangi in the central North Island.

Wellington  - The first tuatara reptile, a living fossil descendant of the dinosaurs, was born on mainland New Zealand after 200 years, it was reported on Friday.

The eight-centimetre-long baby was discovered at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in suburban Wellington on Thursday, captured for a historic photo opportunity and then released back into the bush.

Wellington - New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has warned the centre-right government that its plans to crackdown on criminals could breach international human rights agreements, a newspaper reported on Friday.

Officials said proposals to abolish parole for repeat murderers and jail violent offenders for 25 years for a third offence could violate United Nations' conventions and damage the country's international reputation, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Wellington  - A woman driver lost control on a bend, crashed into a house - and then opened a bottle of beer, a newspaper reported on Friday.

Vicky Johnson told the Dominion Post that she was sitting in her garden when the car ploughed into the side of her house in the Napier suburb of Maraenui.

Johnson said she asked the woman driver if she was okay. "She said, 'Yeah,' then cracked open a bottle of Tui (a local beer), right in front of all the kids, too. It was unbelievable."