Blink and you would have missed another wicket falling as Otago was dismissed for a miserly 88 and Northern Districts was six down stumps.
With so many wickets lost, and the first test against Pakistan two weeks away, questions have to be asked over the standard of the pitch.
But Bradburn, who played seven tests for New Zealand, maintains most of the dismissals were down to batsman error or good bowling.
"There was some poor batting from both teams, coming out of the winter and club cricket," he said.
"The 16 guys in the middle had more to do with the dismissals than the pitch."
Cloud cover and some sideways movement helped Northern Districts' attack early, and Bradburn acknowledged some variable bounce made conditions tricky.
"The bounce was a little bit variable but it flattened out quite nicely in the afternoon. It is an easy-paced pitch and there is no reason why there shouldn't be plenty of runs in the track [today]."
There have been a run of low scores at the University Oval in recent seasons. Wellington was dismissed for 71 in '06-'07 and 76 the following season. Auckland limped to 94 in '07-'08, and Otago managed 73 in '05-'06.
The pitch was voted the worst first-class wicket in the country by the players after last season, and the venue was criticised for its poor drainage during the first test against the West Indies in December last year.
"Certainly, there was a little bit there for the seamers [yesterday]. But that's what you hope for on day one of a four-day match. There was also some very good bowling too," Bradburn said.
Brent Arnel finished with career-best figures of six for 18 and has put his team in a good position to push for an outright victory.
