Key events
100th over: Australia 338-9 (Green 143, Hazlewood 15) O’Rourke brings up triple figures for New Zealand, bowling the 100th over to a dangerously composed Cameron Green who has led this 70-run partnership, now the highest of the innings. After some stick in his opening overs, O’Rourke has got his radar right now. Green still drives a single down the ground to retain strike to Ravindra.
99th over: Australia 337-9 (Green 142, Hazlewood 15) Bowling change. It’ll be Rachin Ravindra to bowl his fifth over. Bit desperate but worth a try at this stage, I guess. Green doesn’t mind it either. He hammers the fourth ball to the boundary at deep midwicket – that’s his 20th four of the innings.
As we pause for refreshments, Rowan Sweeney blows the froth off a salient point:
”The support that Green’s got from the lower order, even before this morning’s fireworks, does nothing to quiet my chuntering that Alex Carey should go further down the order. He’s not bad with the willow, but doesn’t seem as inclined to stick around to support the higher order batters. He’s absolutely our best gloveman so he has to bad somewhere, but I think he should be below Starc, and possibly Cummins.”
Yes, he’s a mercurial man is Carey. A fine gloveman first and foremost and a marvellous strokeplayer on his day too but a real rocks or diamonds proposition lately. Perhaps he’s feeling pressure from the incumbent Josh Inglis or a hangover from the dramas of the Ashes series last6tv year? I’d keep him where he is. Anyone else got an opinion?
98th over: Australia 332-9 (Green 138, Hazlewood 15) Hazlewood plays out a maiden from Henry. He’s looking solid as a rock this morning. This resolute 15 is the Hoff’s highest Test score since January 2019. According to Cricinfo he’d gone 27 innings without making more than 11 (but was not out in 16 of them). Onya Josh! That deserves a drink (onfield only, alas).
97th over: Australia 332-9 (Green 138, Hazlewood 15) Southee persists with O’Rourke. The youngster is into his 23rd over but has copped a shellacking this morning. Green spurns a couple of singles to wait for a loose one to heave into the heavens. But it doesn’t arrive and O’Rourke delivers a rare maiden to expose Hazlewood to the strike.
Simon McMahon has dropped in to see what condition our condition is in. “Hi Angus. This last wicket partnership is now very much into the ‘annoying’ category for New Zealand. Could even end up being the highest of the innings. That’s probably happened more often than I imagine, but it would still be pretty cool.” Not if you’re a Kiwi, Simon.
96th over: Australia 332-9 (Green 138, Hazlewood 15) Josh Hazlewood’s feisty 15 runs this morning gives him the highest score for an Australian in a Test match in Wellington, surpassing Glenn McGrath’s memorable 14 in 2004-05. Green sends congratulations with a nicely worked boundary, chipping it off the hip to the fine leg rope. The next boundary is brute power as he swipes Henry to the fence for four. Lots of wincing and stone-kicking by the Kiwis as this partnership hits 60 and the total surges toward 350.
95th over: Australia 323-9 (Green 129, Hazlewood 15) Hazlewood gets into the action! He greets Will O’Rourke’s first ball with an angled bat and clean energy to send it skidding to the rope at backward square. Lovely shot! That’s the fifty partnership for these two. O’Rourke’s response is a wild bouncer wide down legside. Hazlewood’s riposte to that whanger is SUPERB – a glorious cover drive down the ground for another boundary.
94th over: Australia 314-9 (Green 129, Hazlewood 7) The Green-Hazlewood partnership is into the forties now, an equally valuable forty to that scored by Mitch Marsh yesterday. That counter-attacking carvery of heaves and hoiks altered the momentum of this innings, took Australia from deep trouble to superiority and, most importantly, inspired Cameron Green to break the shackles and playb his shots. He plays one of them to Matt Henry’s fifth ball but air swings magnificently. Gets it right on the next, sending it over the fence and scattering the punters on the Basin Reserve Hill. Maximum!
93rd over: Australia 308-9 (Green 123, Hazlewood 7) Clearly frustrated by this late-order resistance, New Zealand captain Tim Southee has removed himself from the attack and thrown the ball to William O’Rourke, the English-born 22-year-old in his second Test. O’Rourke bowled beautifully yesterday for his 2-59. But Hazlewood works him for a single through short leg from the first delivery and gives Green a good look. And BANG! goes Green stepping away to leg and clobbering him down the ground for SIX. That’s his highest score in Tests. Green tries to replicate the shot but it’s a faster ball and follows him down leg side so he manages a clouted single onto the offside instead.
92nd over: Australia 300-9 (Green 116, Hazlewood 6) Again Green spurns a single from Henry to retain strike. The 32-year-old Christchucher pings in a stern reprimand on the next, squaring Green up with a quicker ball that threads the needle between bat and pad. Josh Hazlewood visibly licked his lips at the movement and threat in that delivery. Now it’s Green licking his lips. He steps back to a Henry bouncer aimed at his throat and heaves it over the rope behind square for SIX to take the total over 300.
91st over: Australia 294-9 (Green 110, Hazlewood 6) Overcast skies today in Wellington but Southee can’t yet find any movement in the murk. There’s still plenty of bounce in this pitch and Green paddles a cut shot for a single from the fourth. Curious tactics from the Australians this morning. You’d think they’d be swinging lustily for fast runs to expose the New Zealand top-order early in the day. Scratch that, reverse it as Hazlewood plays a cross-bat swat down the ground for four. Nice shot from The Hoff!
90th over: Australia 287-9 (Green 109, Hazlewood 2) Bouncer from Henry! Actually no, given Green stands two-metres tall and it whistled past the bum fluff on his chin, it’s a regulation ball. Green remains unruffled. He steps down to the next, a tactic that served him well yesterday when he was able to muddle the bowlers’ lengths. Henry’s fifth is a bouncer that sails over the batter’s head. It’s so high it’s a wide. Another bouncer on the last and Green has a red-hot go at this one, catching a top edged single to third man.
89th over: Australia 286-9 (Green 108, Hazlewood 2) The umpires were so freaked by that likely two that became a no-run score they had to confer to make sure no runs were scored. Tim Southee’s okay with the result. He has Green on strike under overcast skies and no wickets against his name. He bounces the big allrounder on the fourth, no mean feat given the 24-year-old stands 200cm. He puts the next ball outside off at higher speed and Green inside edges it for a single after a handy stop by wicketkeeper Blundell saves the boundary. Just one run from the over but Green keeps the strike.
88th over: Australia 285-9 (Green 107, Hazlewood 2) Henry to Hazlewood. Although he bats No 11, the Bendemeer Bullet isn’t bad with the bat. He averages 11 and has a highest score of 39. He’s playing circumspectly this morning, setting himself for a big innings perhaps. Maybe he wants a good look at this pitch before he starts bowling on it later today. He eases Henry’s fifth ball past gully for two and then strokes the last through covers. But, in a bizarre moment, the batters stop halfway down the pitch and then return to their marks realising it was only a single and Green would evade strike. Weird!
87th over: Australia 283-9 (Green 107, Hazlewood 0) Southee’s figures (0-68) don’t show it but he bowled pretty well yesterday. He copped some welly from Mitch Marsh in that whirlwind 40 and some late stick from Green as he accelerated to three figures. And he’s on target today to Green. The fourth ball rears off a length and hits Green on the point of the left hip, buckling the big man for a moment. He exacts revenge on the next ball, taking a giant stride to the leg side and thwacking it to the boundary.
86th over: Australia 279-9 (Green 103, Hazlewood 0) And we’re away! Matt Henry, the day one star for New Zealand with 4-43, zings in a fast-medium yorker first up but Hazlewood digs it out nicely and sees out the over. Will Green pick up where he left off and open the shoulders in pursuit of 300? Tim Southee is about to find out…
We’re taking a look at the day two wicket. It’s a paler shade of eucalyptus green with a few cracks opening up, which bodes well for Australia’s pace bowling cartel and ominously for the home side’s formidable batting line up, although Kane Williamson is in the form of his life with four consecutive centuries and could probably score tons anywhere.
Although the Black Caps have become one of the most admired teams in world cricket, their recent record against Australia is fairly dire. They have just one win over Australia since 1993! And yet for children of the 1980s, their superiority over Allan Border’s woebegone side is a wound still salty. It’s been 39 years but this 1985 defeat lingers long in the memory, not only for the pain of the innings defeat but also for the first Test century by another allrounder Greg Matthews, one of the game’s truly original characters and an underrated cricketer in a tough era for the boys in the baggy green.
This series marks the first time since 2016 that Australia’s Test side has toured New Zealand. Given the Wallabies invite the All Blacks over the ditch for a trouncing EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR it’s a tad inhospitable of the Kiwis. Maybe Tanya Aldred has the answers as to why these brothers in arms and best of frenemies have been on ice for so long…
For those who came in late… here’s how day one played out.
Preamble
Greetings cricket fans and welcome to Wellington for day two of the first Test pitting Australia against New Zealand for the Trans-Tasman trophy
Day one was a beaut, with both teams enjoying periods of superiority. New Zealand won the toss and sent the visitors in but Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja were able to combat the Basin Reserve’s tricky green-top pitch and eke their way to 60 without loss.
But the loss of Smith for 31 just before lunch triggered a collapse and after the break, Tim Southee’s Black Caps tore into the Australian top order. At one stage Australia lost four 28 in 17 overs, with the wretched recent runs of No 3 Marnus Labuschagne and No 5 Travis Head continuing, both dismissed for one. Matt Henry was the chief destroyer and the inswinger that cracked Khawaja’s middle stump was one for the ages.
It took the two allrounders from West Australia to arrest the slide. With the halo of his Allan Border medal still glowing, Mitch Marsh strode out amidst the tumult, thundered his first ball to the boundary and started the Australian counter-attack. At the other end No 4 Cameron Green had hung tough and survived. But when Marsh departed for 40, the young man took charge, upping the ante and shepherding the tail beyond 200.
Green’s innings was superb. After plodding to tea, he accelerated in the final session, eventually notching his second Test century from the final over of the day and stealing the ascendency from the home side. He resumes today on 103 and Australia nine for 279.