The pitch was a vivid green and had spent a damp day under covers before the toss even took place, so it was little surprise that it was the most seam-friendly strip he had played international cricket on, Azhar Ali said.Pakistan have refused to blame conditions for the loss at Hagley Oval. They have repeated the Hagley surface was not out of the realm of challenges a professional cricketer can expect to face.Yet it is clear that even by New Zealands standards, the surface was especially kind to quicks.Never before, for example, have all 30 wickets in the first three innings gone to seamers, in a Test in New Zealand. And neither Yasir Shah - the No.5 Test bowler in the world - nor Todd Astle, who took a five-wicket haul on this ground three weeks ago, could pose a threat. They collectively bowled 17.3 overs and emerged wicketless. Azhars part-time legbreaks did claim one scalp, but this was after the scores had been tied, and the result was a foregone conclusion.Maybe this is the most seam-friendly pitch Ive played on in my international career, Azhar said after the match. It reminds of one or two pitches in Sri Lanka where the ball moves for a couple of hours on the first day or two but it starts to settle down. Here the movement is there for longer. Its New Zealands home conditions so we, as a professional team, just have to play on whatever we get, and thats it.That their three-day practice match at Nelson had been washed out, exacerbated difficulties for Pakistan, though they did play a long Test series in England earlier this year. That tour had been played in Englands late summer, however, while this loss has come in New Zealands spring. Pakistan were also more effective on the drier tracks in London.You usually dont see in Australia, New Zealand or England a pitch that supports the seamers so much, Azhar said. There was no pitch was like this in England. It swings around there, but not as much grass as that. But this is the pitch we got, and New Zealand played better than us.In what may be a worrying sign with a tour of Australia on the horizon, the short ball proved particularly effective against Pakistan in the second innings. Younis Khan, Babar Azam and Misbah-ul-Haq all fell to short-pitched bowling - though in dissimilar ways. The bouncer barrage on day three had been perhaps the definitive period of play in this Test.If you come to this part of the world, you do expect that, Azhar said. You expect sub-continent teams will be tested with that short stuff and we all knew that. But as time goes on, well get better, and were hopeful to turn things around quickly.Though he only made 31 runs, Azhar had played the longest innings of the Test, surviving for over four hours, to face 173 deliveries. Having had an outstanding series in West Indies, he said he felt his own form was holding up.As a batsman, I was applying myself and trying to battle out the conditions when it was tough, he said. The New Zealand bowlers held their plans really well, and held their lines long enough to create chances. We couldnt get the flow of runs going at any stage, so thats why sometimes its hard as a batsman. Youre trying to play well and do everything right, but the opposition sometimes doesnt allow you to score runs.But Im confident that everything in my game is going alright. Its just a matter of time until you start playing fluently and the runs start coming. Cheap Warriors Jerseys . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. 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SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Colin Kaepernick has brought some of his San Francisco teammates closer with his national anthem protests against social injustice.Since this stuff started, Ive had conversations with him on a much deeper level than I ever have, 49ers safety Eric Reid said Friday. Hes told me hes had that same feeling with a number of guys.Reid joined Kaepernicks protest in the preseason finale Sept. 1 in San Diego, with both players taking a knee during the anthem. Previously, the struggling quarterback sat on the bench when the anthem played, protesting social injustices, racial inequalities and police brutality.Theres been a lot of open conversations, a lot more conversations going on in general, Kaepernick said. And I think ultimately this team and this locker room have gotten a lot closer because of the gaining of understanding of individuals. The decision to kneel was the result of collaboration with former Green Beret and Seahawks long snapper Nate Boyer after Kaepernick received public criticism.Youre not going to get a pleasant response, Kaepernick said. Most people dont want change. Theyre set in their ways. In order to change, you have to be able to agitate people at times. I think thats something thats very necessary for us to improve as a country.San Francisco coach Chip Kelly has maintained Kaepernicks protest has not been a distraction to his team.dddddddddddd. He named Kaepernick the backup quarterback to Blaine Gabbert ahead of the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.I think our team did a great job with it, Kelly said. We recognize and respect Kaps decision and his constitutional rights to do what hes doing and it sounds like its been a positive change. Theres been a lot of positive things that have come out of it.After the San Diego game, Kaepernick announced he would donate $1 million of his salary to undisclosed organizations supporting his cause. Team CEO Jed York Thursday announced the 49ers Foundation will match Kaepernicks donation to local charities in the Bay Area.That was huge, Reid said. I mean, any time you do something, a protest, you know theres going to be backlash. You know you cant satisfy anybody. But for our organization to step up, it feels like were supported by the NFL. Thats huge. It gives substance to what were doing.Game notes CB Chris Davis (hamstring) did not participate in practice Friday. DT Arik Armstead (shoulder), LB Nick Bellore (knee), DT Quinton Dial (knee) and DT Glenn Dorsey (knee) were listed as limited. CB Keith Reaser (ankle) returned to practice and was limited after missing practice Thursday. 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