On a surface that turned and bounced sharply Cameron Green with his superb century and Nathan Lyon always loomed large and once again he was Australia’s match-winner to finish with 6 for 65 and match figures of 10-108. It was the first 10-wicket haul by a spinner in New Zealand since 2006.
Nathan Lyon, who also top-scored in Australia’s second innings with 41, was the standout performer alongside Cameron Green, whose masterful unbeaten 174 in the first innings was remarkable on a bowler-friendly surface. It was just the fifth Test match where 13 bowlers took a wicket and the first since 1966.
With just one Test victory over Australia since 1993, New Zealand’s misery continued having struggled to muster much resistance with the bat after being bowled out for under 200 runs in both innings giving Australia a lead in the two match test series 1-0 and now the path to recovery by New Zealand only to draw the series 1-1 would be miraculous.
Pitch and Toss
The pitch at the Basin Reserve as always here does carry a greenish tinge to it but that shouldn’t automatically mean that it’ll be a seamer’s paradise. Runs, and loads of them, do still get scored routinely here at the Basin but expect the two fast-bowling captains to bowl first, especially if there’s some grey in the skies above. The wind will be a factor, and not only because Nathan Lyon joked about having lost all his hair bowling into it here at the Basin 8 years ago.
Neil Wagner’s retirement two days out from the opening Test was sort of telegraphed once William O’Rourke made a stellar debut against South Africa two weeks ago. The tall young quick immediately became a certainty because of the X-factor he brings to the table in the absence of the equally tall Kyle Jamieson.
Devon Conway’s injury comes at a bad time even if he’s not been in the best of knick with regards to Test cricket. Will Young slots in as always while it looks likely that the weather conditions might dictate the inclusion of an additional seamer in the form of Scott Kuggeleijn ahead of the seasoned Mitchell Santner.
Few teams love sticking to the tried and tested as Australia do, and with good reason. The top-order recalibration with Steve Smith opening and Cameron Green at No 4 is still a work in progress and at a very nascent stage of it getting settled. The legendary trio of fast bowlers continue to wage on without seeking a break, and so does Lyon with his mastery in a playing XI that has six players who’ll be playing their first Test in New Zealand.
New Zealand won the toss and put Australia to bat on a bowler friendly wicket.
Day 1 : Cameron Green puts Australia on top on a green-top at Basin Reserve
Asked to bat on a green top, Australia’s top-order had the unenviable task of contending with a four-prong seam attack in (overcast) conditions conducive to their craft. To that effect, the hosts will feel aggrieved that they managed only a solitary wicket in what was a cagey opening session to the Test match. They were, perhaps, guilty of not bowling full enough in that first hour and despite beating Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja’s bats on a couple of occasions, there were no real chances created.
After each of the four quicks – Tim Southee, Henry, Scott Kuggeleijn and Will O’Rourke – had made their opening statements, it was Henry in his second spell of trying that brought New Zealand their first breakthrough. With the first ball of the 25th over, he drew an outside edge off Smith’s bat with a scrambled seam delivery that was sharply snaffled from ‘keeper Tom Blundell diving in front of first slip.
After a 67-run opening session, the play in the post-lunch period offered a better reflection of the conditions on offer. Kuggeleijn accounted for a highly defensive Marnus Labuschagne, who made 1 run off 27 deliveries, before finding himself rooted to the crease while attempting to play a full ball. Daryl Mitchell took the catch at first slip to end Labuschagne’s misery. Another full ball from Henry then brought the end of Khawaja’s dogged resistance as he failed to account for the inward curl on a delivery from around the stumps and lost his stumps.
When Travis Head fell in the following over, to O’Rourke, Australia were down to 89/4 and facing the prospect of a sub-par score. Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh led a brisk counter-offensive to lift the visitors out of the rut.
There were clear tactics employed by Cameron Green, in particular, who routinely walked down the pitch to the fast bowlers to cut the movement. Marsh, at the other end, found an alternative route to success by throwing his bat at any ball bowled on a wider line. Inside 14 balls of the pair getting together, there were four boundaries struck.
Marsh raced away to 26 off 19 following a six and a four off the top and outside edges respectively but the approach of the two Australian all-rounders had the effect of dispersing New Zealand bowlers off their control areas. The 67-run fifth-wicket stand ended straight after Tea when Marsh, looking to stay true to his counter-attacking disposition, top-edged a Henry short ball and was caught by the ‘keeper.
Cameron Green, however, continued to grow in confidence and hit Kuggeleijn for three boundaries in four balls as he pushed Australia closer to the crucial 200-run mark. The pitch proved harder to bat on in the period after the Tea interval with multiple deliveries rearing off a length and striking batters on the gloves and the arm. That meant batters were always eager to put away any balls on a driving length and one such attempt brought the end of Alex Carey’s stay in the middle as he drove a full Kuggeleijn delivery straight to cover.
Cameron Green got to his half-century with a boundary after drinks in the final session after an aerial drive evaded Southee on his follow-through. He upped his scoring rate thereafter as New Zealand turned to spin in a bid to get to the second new-ball as quickly as possible. He added 35 with Mitchell Starc and another 33 with Pat Cummins to take Australia past 250.
He was in the 90s when Nathan Lyon fell to the second new ball. Batting with No.11, Green hit three boundaries in the last over of the day’s play to get to his milestone, displaying his deeper gears by going from 50 to 100 in just 46 balls and thereby helping his side grab the initiative from their hosts for good.
Cameron Green scored his second Test match ton as Australia overcame mid-innings wobble on a green-top in Wellington to claim early control of the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington. At stumps on the opening day at Basin Reserve, Cameron Green’s unbeaten 103 helped Australia overcome a fine Matt Henry bowling performance (4 for 43) to post 279/9.
Day 2 : Australia in control despite early second innings wobble thanks to Cameron Green’s 174* and Nathan Lyon’s 4-fer
Australia gained a stranglehold over proceedings in the opening Test in Wellington thanks to an all-round show on the second day. Their bowlers backed up Cameron Green’s 174* to take a healthy first innings lead on a day when 13 wickets fell.
The fast-moving second day saw Australia first add 104 runs for the last wicket with Josh Hazlewood partnering a dominant Cameron Green in a stand that frustrated the hosts. The duo ensured that Australia’s position had improved by leaps and bounds from the 176/6 they were at one point in the innings.
Cameron Green got his highest Test score of 174 * as Australia put up a massive total on a green top before Matt Henry ended the innings and also picked up a five-fer.
The conditions now favored their strong pace attack and they delivered in style. Mitchell Starc first castled Tom Latham early before Kane Williamson collided with partner Will Young resulting in his run out for a duck. Things took a turn for the worse when Hazlewood then had Rachin Ravindra caught at cover for a blob as well three balls later. 12/3 quickly turned to 29/5 as Daryll Mitchell and Young were dismissed off successive balls by Pat Cummins and Mitchell Marsh.
Tom Blundell, alongside a belligerent Glenn Phillips, then proceeded to do the repair work. Their 84-run stand helped New Zealand save some blushes while Henry used the long handle in scoring 42 – a cameo containing four sixes. But the good work started by the Australian pacers was finished off by Nathan Lyon who wiped out the tail to finish with a four-wicket haul. This gave Australia a 204-run first innings lead.
The visitors, however, chose not to enforce the follow-on. This saw another minor twist in the tale with New Zealand now striking early. Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne were both dismissed by Tim Southee. The former chopped on an incoming delivery while the latter was strangled down the leg side, leaving Australia precariously poised at 4-2.
Usman Khawaja along with night watchman Nathan Lyon saw off the remaining day’s play with Australia still firmly in the driver’s seat even as New Zealand got a sniff at derailing them.
Day 3 : Rachin Ravindra drags New Zealand ahead in tall chase after Glenn Philips bags a superb fifer
Australia began the day on 13 for 2 with nightwatchman Nathan Lyon batting alongside Usman Khawaja. Lyon was the first to fall on the third day, but not before making a valuable 41 off 46. That effort would go on to be the best of Australia’s second innings line-up as the middle-order succumbed to the off-spin of Glenn Phillips.
Phillips kick-started his fifer with a full, tossed up delivery outside the off-stump to Usman Khawaja and lured him out to get him stumped. Australia rebuilt quickly through Cameron Green and Travis Head but their alliance too was broken by Phillips. While looking to establish his dominance in the tussle against Phillips, Head took a risk that didn’t pay off, as Scott Kuggeleijn moved to his right from long off to settle under a catch. Phillips then saw the back off Mitchell Marsh on the very next ball, getting him caught at short leg for a golden duck.
Tim Southee gave his spinner an attacking field, and stationed himself at short cover. There were dividends to that move as Alex Carey fell for a tossed up full ball and drove it straight to the New Zealand captain to become Phillips’s fourth victim. It was down to Will Young’s excellent reflexes at short leg that Phillips completed his fifer – sending the first-innings centurion Green packing for 34. Australia folded for 164, and yet set New Zealand a mammoth target on the basis of their first-innings advantage.
The Australia bowlers then proceeded to rattle New Zealand further by running through their top-order. Spin continued to be the currency as Nathan Lyon, who was brought on in the fifth over, struck right away to remove Tom Latham. Shortly after Tea, Lyon made a sizeable dent with the prized wicket of Kane Williamson, getting him caught at leg slip. Australia could smell blood and were razor sharp on the field in their quest to make further inroads.
Travis Head provided the next, although it was more down to a one-handed stunning catch from Steve Smith at first slip that led to the dismissal of Will Young who had slowly but steadily grown into the innings till that stage.
In the company of Daryl Mitchell – New Zealand’s crisis man, Rachin Ravindra scored a stubborn half-century and dragged the hosts to stumps without further damage. This however, will need to be kept up for longer periods on Day 4 with New Zealand still having a steep mountain to climb in chase.
Another fast-paced day at the Basin Reserve in Wellington has left New Zealand in a precarious position in the series opener against Australia, as they slumped to 111/3 in chase of 369.
Glenn Phillips hastened the end of Australia’s innings with a five-wicket haul – the first New Zealand spinner to do so in 18 years – earlier in the day but the hosts then lost three quick wickets, including that of Kane Williamson, by the end of Day 3. The hosts fell to 59 for 3, from where Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell saw the final session through. New Zealand still need 258 runs to win.
Day 4 : Lyon spins Australia to big win in Wellington by 172 runs.
New Zealand had shown admirable resistance on the third day after being pushed so far behind in the game and even teased the possibility of an incredible come-from-behind win but eventually the turn and bounce accorded by the pitch at the Basin Reserve was enough for Lyon to rubber-stamp his influence on the game.
Nathan Lyon’s feat was the first 10-wicket match haul by a spinner in New Zealand since 2006 and extended the hosts’ misery in Test matches against Australia, who they have beaten just once since 1993 now.
The hosts, whose hopes were snuffed in a matter of two Lyon overs, found brief resistance through Mitchell and Scott Kuggeleijn, but it was always a matter of time before Australia opened up one end. First-innings centurion Cameron Green found a delivery to misbehave off a good length and kick up onto Kuggeleijn, who could only glove it to the ‘keeper.
The end came quickly thereafter as Josh Hazlewood bagged a pair of wickets while Nathan Lyon had the home skipper miscuing a slog to long on for his sixth wicket. It capped off a thoroughly impressive show from the visitors, who completed an impressive victory despite being put into bat on a green-top on the first morning, found a way to move into the ascendancy and stayed there through the course.
Nathan Lyon took a second-innings six-fer and registered a 10-wicket match haul for the fifth time in his illustrious career as Australia romped home to victory by 172 runs on the fourth morning of the series-opening Wellington Test.
Presentations and Road Ahead.
Tim Southee the loosing captain said :
“Like every game we’ll reflect and look at ways we can better. We didn’t think it would turn as much as it did. We saw the ability for Glenn to come into the game. Those two [Phillips and Henry] had great weeks and contributed with the bat. Glenn is still new to Test cricket and he’s doing a great job. Always nice to play in front of good crowds and has been as good as I remember at the Basin Reserve,”
Pat Cummins the winning captain said :
“We had our moments. A really good game overall and never felt too far in front on that wicket. A little bit [surprised at the spin and bounce], first of all seeing how green it is. Was really bouncy and had some pace. As much bounce as any wicket I’ve seen for a long time,”
“[Cameron Green] He was amazing, really the difference in the end. Thought the way he went about it, that intent, but pressure back on the bowlers. Pretty quick turnaround, enjoy this win but pretty chilled,”
Cameron Green for his superb knock in the 1st Innings earned Player of the Match award