March 3, 2024
Key posts
11.37amPat Cummins praises Cameron Green for player of match performance 10.58amAustralia claim first Test by 172 runs10.45amAustralia one wicket from victory as Lyon strikes again10.20amGreen takes a wicket as Australia charges towards victory10.07amDaniel Brettig’s view of the first hour9.46amLyon claims another wicket9.37amLyon claims two wickets in one over8.32amNew Zealand must create history to win in Wellington
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11.37am
Pat Cummins praises Cameron Green for player of match performance
Victorious Australian captain Pat Cummins believes rejuvenated allrounder Cameron Green was the difference between the teams in the first Test.
Australian won by 172 runs and Green made 174 not out in Australia’s first innings, including a 116-run last-wicket partnership with Josh Hazlewood (22). Australia scored a decisive 383 to set up the Test after being sent in on a green pitch.
“He was amazing,” Cummins said of Green. “He was the difference in the end. If you look at the trend in the game the next highest score was 60-odd and he’s put on 170 not out. I thought the way he went about it as well. That intent really put the pressure back on the bowlers.”
Green was the only Australian to pass 50 for the match. Glenn Phillips (71 from 70 balls) did it in New Zealand’s first innings while Rachin Ravindra (59) did it in New Zealand’s second innings.
Cummins was surprised how much the pitch helped the spinners given how green it was at the start of the match. Nathan Lyon finished with 6/65, giving him ten wickets in a match for the fifth time.
“It had good pace and as much bounce as I’ve seen in any wicket for a long time,” Cummins said. “Thankfully it spun. With Nathan in our side that’s always a pretty good thing.”
It was an important victory for Australia after losing the last Test of the home season against the unrated West Indies. Third on the World Test Championship going into this series, Australia have now moved to second with New Zealand falling from first to third. India are on top by a small margin. The top two teams will play off in the WTC final next year.
Australia celebrate winning the first TestCredit: Getty
10.58am
Australia claim first Test by 172 runs
Australia have won the first Test by 172 runs after bowling New Zealand out for 196 on the fourth morning. Daryl Mitchell was the last man out skying as pull short to be caught and bowled by Josh Hazlewood. Despite New Zealand bowling first on a lush green pitch, the spinners dominated for much of the match. Nathan Lyon was Australia’s hero with 6/65 giving him ten wickets in a match for the fifth time in his 128-Test career.
Australia have won the first Test by 172 runs.Credit: photosport.nz
10.45am
Australia one wicket from victory as Lyon strikes again
Nathan Lyon claimed his sixth wicket and tenth for the match as Australia moved within one wicket of claiming the first Test. New Zealand captain Tim Southee holed out to Mitchell Starc at long on two balls after hitting a six.
Nathan Lyon claimed his fifth ten-wicket haul in a Test.Credit: Getty
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10.39am
Hazlewood claims Henry
Josh Hazlewood claimed his first wicket of the innings, having Matt Henry comfortably caught head high at second slip by Steve Smith attempting another back foot drive. He made 14 from 15 balls with two fours and a six as Australia moved within two wickets of victory.
10.36am
Henry hits Lyon for six
Fast bowler has continued his entertaining approach to batting, hitting Nathan Lyon back over the bowler’s head for just the second six of the innings. It came after he hit successive fours off Cameron Green in the previous over, the first a streaky inside edge and the second a loverly back footy drive through the covers.
10.28am
Mitchell struck in the helmet by Green bouncer
Playing was temporary held up for a mandatory examination of Daryl Mitchell after he was struck on the head by a short ball from Cameron Green attempting to hook. Mitchell was cleared to continue.
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10.20am
Green takes a wicket as Australia charges towards victory
Cameron Green has continued an outstanding Test match, dismissing Scott Kuggeleijn for 26 from 28 balls as New Zealand slumped to 7/164, needing another 205 runs for a seemingly impossible victory. A shortish ball lifted and Kuggeleijn fended at it, presenting a simple lobbed catch down the leg side to wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
Cameron Green celebrates with Mitchell Marsh after taking the wicket of Scott Kuggeleijn.Credit: Getty
10.07am
Daniel Brettig’s view of the first hour
Last night Nathan Lyon spoke as though he knew there were plenty more wickets for him in this Basin Reserve surface and that has proven prescient. After an exploratory couple of overs at the Adelaide Road End, Lyon switched back to the Vance Stand End where he’d spent most of the game, and used the variable bounce on offer to draw a miscued cut shot out of Rachin Ravindra. Tom Blundell was out at bat pad in the first innings, and lasted just three balls before falling in similar fashion. but Lyon saved his best for Glenn Phillips: discomforting the counterpunching number seven with several deliveries that turned and jumped at him from around the wicket, Lyon then fizzed down something quicker after pushing Phillips back to pin him right in front of middle stump. A masterful display.
Glenn Phillips was Nathan Lyon’s fifth wicket.Credit: Getty
10.01am
Kuggeleijn swats three boundaries
Fast bowler Scott Kuggeleijn, aged 32 and playing just his second Test, has smacked three boundaries since his arrival at the crease. He twice swept Nathan Lyon for four and then hooked another off Pat Cummins in the next over. His run a ball 16 contrasted the usually attacking Daryl Mitchell’s 26 from 102 balls.
Daryl Mitchell plays a rare attacking shot on day four.Credit: Getty
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9.46am
Lyon claims another wicket
Nathan Lyon has claimed his fifth wicket for the innings and ninth for the match, dismissing Kiwi hero Glenn Phillips lbw for one after the batsman unsuccessfully reviewed the decision. It gave Lyon 3/0 from eight balls across two overs as New Zealand tumbled from 3/126 to 6/128, still needing another 241 for an increasingly unlikely victory.
Nathan Lyon claimed his 24th 5-wicket haul in his 128th TestCredit: Getty
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