Alex Carey scored an unbeaten 98 and shared a 140-run stand with Mitchell Marsh (80) – the highest sixth-wicket partnership in a fourth-innings against New Zealand – as Australia chased down 279 to complete a 2-0 series sweep and extend their dominance over their Tasman neighbors New Zealand in the format, a lopsided record that now reads just 1 win for the Black Caps in the last 31 years.
Alex Carey produced a brilliant knock under pressure to crush New Zealand’s bid for a famous victory as Australia ran down a tough 279 runs in a nerve-jangling chase at Hagley Oval.
Australia’s bid to win the second Test and seal the series 2-0 appeared in major trouble at 80 for 5 after the early wicket of Travis Head on day four. But Alex Carey and Mitchell Marsh, who made 80 after being dropped on 28, combined for a brisk 140-run sixth-wicket partnership to inch Australia within 59 runs.
Debutant Ben Sears, bowling in the mid-140 kph, flipped the match on its head with the wickets of Marsh and Mitchell Starc on consecutive deliveries to revive New Zealand’s hopes. Alex Carey, however, was unperturbed and finished Australia’s hero with an unbeaten 98. He found calm support through Pat Cummins, who again helped Australia over the line much like he memorably did at Edgbaston in last year’s Ashes. Cummins made 32 and hit the winning boundary at an increasingly gloomy Hagley Oval as the batters embraced mid-pitch.
Pitch and Toss
After being swung one way to another in windy Wellington, Christchurch can feel a bit still in more ways than one. As pretty and serene as most of the city is, there are also reminders everywhere of the terrible tragedy nearly 15 years ago from which this city has had to build itself back up from. What you do get in Christchurch, unlike in the country’s capital is more consistent weather, and the forecast is for very pleasant weather with no concerns over rain being a factor.
The pitch at Hagley has 12 mm grass on it but a lot of that greenness was dried off under the sun, and there was a drastic change in complexion as we went from Wednesday (March 6) to Thursday (Match 7). The curator did say that this was nothing like the surface we saw for India four years ago, where the pitch and the outfield looked interchangeable.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bowl. Australia made no changes in the squad from the 1st test and played with the same 11.
New Zealand skipper Tim Southee set to play his 100th test alongside Kane Williamson made one change in the squad bringing in Ben Sears for injured William O’Rourke.
Day 1 : Pacers, Marnus Labuschagne give Australia opening day honors
Australia bagged the honors on the opening day of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch after their pacers bowled out the hosts for just 162 in their first innings. In reply, Australia were jittery with the bat but a fighting unbeaten 45 from Marnus Labuschagne has ensured that they are now only 38 runs adrift.
New Zealand made a positive start to the Test match when Tom Latham picked up two boundaries off the very first over bowled by Mitchell Starc. Josh Hazlewood posed some early questions but Latham continued to pick boundaries regularly to keep New Zealand going. Will Young finally fetched his first boundary after the first drinks break but Starc eventually broke through in his second spell as the batter got a leading edge to third slip to give Australia their first wicket.
Latham continued being positive and appeared to be the key batter but his dismissal triggered a collapse that put the visitors in complete control. The left-hander edged one behind to get caught by the keeper and from 61/1, New Zealand were left reeling at 84/5. Rachin Ravindra chased a wide delivery to get caught at first slip just before the lunch break and post resumption, Hazlewood dismissed Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson in successive overs.
Starc then struck twice in two deliveries to pin New Zealand further down and if not for some handy runs from Matt Henry and Tim Southee, New Zealand wouldn’t have gotten anywhere closer to 150. Hazlewood, who had an excellent outing, picked up the final wicket to finish with a five-fer.
Australia in reply made a watchful start with Matt Henry bowling a testing opening spell. However, it was the debutant Ben Sears who gave the hosts the first breakthrough as he got the big fish Steve Smith in his first over. Smith misjudged the delivery completely and offered no shot to get trapped lbw. Usman Khawaja, who was slowly getting into his groove, was the next to depart as Henry found some reward finally by castling him.
Labuschagne then joined forces with Cameron Green to keep Australia steady for a while. The pair hit three boundaries off the first three overs of their partnership before Green took on Sears and Southee. Having already made a match-winning hundred in the opening Test, Green looked set for another big score before Henry came to knock over the No.4 batter.
Travis Head threatened briefly by racing to 21 off just 18 balls to eat into the deficit but Henry removed him as well, much to New Zealand’s relief. However, with just 38 runs behind, Australia will fancy their chances of pressing home the advantage on the second day.
Day 2 : Matt Henry , Tom Latham keep New Zealand alive in the 2nd test
A Matt Henry 7-fer and a fighting half-century from Tom Latham has kept New Zealand alive in the second Test against Australia in Christchurch as they went into stumps with a lead of 40. The visitors are still slightly ahead in the contest but things could have been far worse for New Zealand if not for an improved showing on the second day.
Australia began the day in positive fashion as overnight batters Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan Lyon dealt in boundaries. While Labuschagne went past fifty, Lyon survived a dropped chance and made the hosts by making 20 before Henry managed to find the outside edge. Labuschagne then cut Scott Kuggeleijn for a boundary to help Australia take the lead but the hosts kept pegging them back. Henry completed his five-fer by trapping Mitchell Marsh for a duck before the golden arm of Glenn Phillips saw the back of Alex Carey.
Mitchell Starc then frustrated the home side with a stubborn little partnership with Labuschagne but just before the Tea break, New Zealand struck. Once again, it was Phillips who made things happen. This time though, it was on the field with an extraordinary one-handed diving catch to get rid of Labuschagne for 90. Post resumption, Henry removed both Starc and Pat Cummins after they had made some vital contributions to drag the lead to 94.
Under pressure, New Zealand suffered an early jolt with the bat. Starc bowled a delivery that just went with the angle whereas Will Young anticipated it to come back, only to edge it behind. However, after the early wicket, New Zealand recovered very well on the back of a century stand between Kane Williamson and Latham. Williamson, who was cautious to begin with, hit three boundaries off Starc to force a bowling change. It didn’t affect the New Zealand no.3 as Pat Cummins was also welcomed to the attack with two boundaries in the same over.
Tom Latham, who was subdued for the major part of his stay, took on Lyon for a couple of boundaries but New Zealand’s run rate largely hovered just over two-runs-per-over. The two batters then brought up the highest partnership of the series for New Zealand and in the process, put their side in the lead.
Kane Williamson went past 50 in his 100th Test but his hopes of batting through the day was cut short by Cummins who finally ended the century stand. But with Latham firm at one end and plenty of batting to come, the hosts will be hopeful of setting a fighting target.
Day 3 : Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell and bowlers turn the tables on Australia
New Zealand set themselves up for an excellent, come-from-behind victory in the Christchurch Test, a possibility that seemed beyond them after they were bowled out for 162 on the opening day. At the end of an absorbing third day’s play, however, the Black Caps had edged into control although it can be said that the game is poised delicately enough to swing one way or the other.
Set to chase 279 for a series-sweeping win, Australia were reduced to 34 for 4 before Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh counter-attacked their way to an unbeaten 43-run stand. The visitors need a further 202 runs for victory.
At the heart of the continued Black Caps resistance on the third day were Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell and the fast-bowling pair of Matt Henry and Ben Sears. The hosts had been buoyed by their efforts on Saturday to drag back a game that had threatened to slip away rapidly from them and under easing batting conditions, continued to get back into the contest.
Overnight half-centurion Tom Latham looked set for his maiden Test hundred against Australia before Pat Cummins got a delivery to cut back into the left-hander and found a feather edge to the ‘keeper via the thigh pad.
Even after Latham was dismissed for 73, there was no panic as Ravindra and Mitchell quickly set about building the base for another big partnership. Both batters were excellent against the spin of Nathan Lyon with Mitchell using the relative positional comfort to showcase his wide range.
He reverse-swept Lyon for a four and then chipped out of his crease to launch the master off-spinner over the long-on ropes. Ravindra was just as assured and got to his half-century with a straight-drive off Mitchell Marsh, who was brought into the attack rather belatedly by Cummins.
Wicket-taking with the old ball proved to be a challenge and on either side of the lunch interval, the Australian captain went through as many as eight bowlers. This included an over of Marnus Labuschagne bowling seam up and while it brought some comedic relief, the move almost paid off as Ravindra top-edged an attempted pull but the ball landed safe.
Eventually it was the second new ball that opened the gates once more for Australia. The batting pair negotiated the first few overs against it with Mitchell Starc proving to be slightly wayward but then Josh Hazlewood got a scrambled seam delivery to shape away late and had Mitchell edge behind for 53. It ended a 123-run association – the best for either team in this otherwise bowling-dominated series.
Cummins then came back into the attack and priced out Ravindra for 82 with his first ball back – a sharp back-of-length delivery that seamed away late with the left-hander already committed to play. Tom Blundell then threw his hands at a wide delivery from Cameron Green and hit it uppishly to cover where Labuschagne took a sharp catch.
The fielder, however, was unable to hold on to another offering from Scott Kuggeleijn in the following Green over and the batter went on to make his reprieve count by racing away to 30 off 26 with a six each off Green and Starc.
At Tea, with a lead of 251 in the bank, the hosts appeared set to give Australia a target in excess of 300. But all that changed inside 30 minutes of the final session. Lyon ended the half-century stand between Kuggeleijn and Glenn Phillips by castling the latter. Henry then attempted one shot too many and holed out to long on. Cummins dismissed his opposite number, Southee, caught behind before Lyon grabbed his third by dismissing Kuggeleijn for 44 to bowl New Zealand out for 372.
Australia chased down a total in excess of 279 only last year at Edgbaston (282) but you’ll have to go back to Johannesburg 2011 for the previous time they’d done so. The magnitude of their task was amplified by some excellent new-ball bowling. Steve Smith was caught on his shuffle and pinged on the pads by a Henry delivery seaming into him and adjudged LBW.
Labuschagne survived a dropped chance but fell two balls later when he chipped a return catch to Sears. Henry then had Usman Khawaja nicking off to a superb catch in the slips from Southee before Sears found extra bounce to get Green to chop one on to the stumps.
At 34/4, Australia had slipped into rare territory, with a defeat to New Zealand now a strong possibility. But as ever, they lived to battle one another day and keep those old truisms alive thanks to a counter-attacking Mitchell Marsh, who hit four boundaries in his run-a-ball 27 and Travis Head.
Day 4 : Sensational Alex Carey, Mitchell Marsh and Pat Cummins leads Australia’s series winning chase of 279 at Hagley Oval.
Alex Carey scored an unbeaten 98 and shared a 140-run stand with Mitchell Marsh (80) – the highest sixth-wicket partnership in a fourth-innings against New Zealand – as Australia chased down 279 to complete a 2-0 series sweep and extend their dominance over their Tasman neighbors New Zealand in the format, a lopsided record that now reads just 1 win for the Black Caps in the last 31 years.
Australia went into the final day of the series, four down, on the edge and confronting a rare possibility of losing only a second Test match to their Tasman neighbors in three decades. They had slipped to 34/4 on the third evening and victory was a further 202 runs away at the start of the day’s play. They were made to wait as portentous rain washed away the first hour of the morning session. But soon enough the sun was shining on them, literally and metaphorically.
Mitchell Marsh was going to be their big ray of hope having counter-attacked his way to a run-a-ball 29 last night. This morning, he was the beneficiary of some Black Caps benevolence as his fierce cut shot in the second over of the day was put down by Rachin Ravindra at point off the bowling of Tim Southee. His overnight batting partner, Travis Head, wasn’t as lucky as a similar shot two balls later led to his downfall.
That early dismissal brought Alex Carey to the middle. Under pressure to keep his place in the side with Josh Inglis pushing him, the keeper-bat began solidly, driving Southee down the ground and punching Matt Henry past backward point for boundaries. It was a feature of Australia’s chase that despite the pressure they were subjected to, they maintained a scoring rate in excess of 4 (4.32 at the end).
Alex Carey endured a heart-in-mouth moment when he was ruled out LBW to a nip-backer from Henry but DRS projected the ball to be sliding down leg. Another close shave arrived when he had moved to 37. Scott Kuggeleijn appealed for a caught-behind and got his captain to use a review, which eventually came to nothing.
Between those two moments, Alex Carey and Marsh were largely untroubled and Southee’s attempts to rotate his four seamers and Glenn Phillips could not put a lid on the scoring. Marsh got to his half-century with a fierce pull shot and three overs later Carey got a 50 of his own with a pair of boundaries off Ben Sears. By Lunch, the pair had put on 94 and victory was only 105 runs away.
The 43-over-old ball was significantly easier to contend with and the start of the second session’s play saw runs arrive in a glut. Marsh cut Southee for a pair of boundaries, forcing the captain to turn to his pace ace for a breakthrough. As it turned out, Matt Henry’s first over back cost New Zealand 16 runs with Alex Carey tickling a legside delivery for four before Marsh unveiled one of his patented pulls over deep square-leg for a six.
With the target down to 59, Southee summoned Ben Sears into the attack and New Zealand’s fading hopes were reignited once more by the debutant speedster. With his second delivery, he broke the partnership with a pacy, full ball that Marsh missed while attempting a flick. The very next ball, Mitchell Starc chipped a simple catch down mid-wicket’s throat to leave Australia seven down.
Just like that, the clouds rolled in, the flood lights were turned on and the Hagley Oval crowd found its voice. But in Cummins, Australia had a No.9 with proven pedigree in such nip and tuck situations. Only last year, in the Edgbaston Ashes Test, the Australian skipper had seen his side over the line in a similarly tense chase. That chase in Birmingham was Australia’s first successful chase of 279 or more in over 12 years. And Cummins brought all his experience to the fore once he survived the hat-trick ball, which he edged just past second slip for four.
Alex Carey continued to play his shots, a lap off Sears and a pair of swept boundaries off Phillips took Australia close. He was left two short of a century with Australia needing an identical number of runs when the strike turned over. Cummins punched the ball square off the wicket for a boundary to polish off an excellent chase and a 2-0 series win over New Zealand.
Presentations and Road Ahead.
Tim Southee the loosing captain said :
“Was a great Test. The partnership between Marsh and Carey broke the back of our team. There was a bit of excitement towards the end, but wasn’t to be. This can happen when you’re playing the number 1 side in the world,”
“Dropped catches are a part of the game. Lots of positives from this series. Henry has grown from strength to strength, especially for a guy who has been in and out of the side early on. Couple of other blokes as well have performed well throughout the series,”
Pat Cummins the winning captain said :
“Pretty tense, everyone was nervous the last couple of hours. Amazing win. (On winning runs) Anyway possible to win, I had no idea he (Carey) was on 98. The toss helped, it was funny how quickly the match moved on Day 1. First innings leads are always key for this reason,”
“We’ve been on the other side of Tests plenty of time, I just told the boys to keep the scoreboard moving, stay busy and put the pressure on the opposition. We’ve got an experienced side, the story of this series has been guys standing up in crunch moments. Love playing Test matches, best format of cricket and it pays off on days like this,”
Alex Carey won the Player of the Match said :
“Yeah, I’m thrilled. Was a great series, this game ebbed and flowed. Back against the wall last night, they came hard and put us under pressure. So nice to get home. Two quality bowlers in Tim (Southee) and Matt Henry, they were superb, the ball was nipping around, but Mitch took them on and took the pressure off me,”
“His intent was amazing. Travis (Head) is one of those players who keeps the scoreboard moving, that was the message today (from the management), to keep playing the way we can and take any opportunity (to score) when we got, I think we did just. I was just happy to be at the non-striker’s end and didn’t want to face another ball (on his 98*). I have to thank the bowlers for that (on equalling Adam Gilchrist’s record of 10 dismissals for a match), but it’s a nice little stat,”
Matt Henry won Player of the series said :
“Yeah, obviously, it’s disappointing, but at the same time we showed a lot of fight. The way they played was to get the runs ticking over, we were always looking for wickets, the attitude we showed to try and crack open the game was unbelievable,”
“It’s always nice to be playing cricket at home (in Christchurch), there’s a bit of bounce and seam movement available on this pitch. It’s great to be part of one of New Zealand’s best bowling attacks. Tim (Southee) is one of the best and it was great to share the new ball with him. It always feels nice to be contributing with the bat, we pride ourselves on chipping in with the bat,”