“,”elementId”:”7db6f5e7-d5a1-4e24-a999-71688266cd5e”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1710023054000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”17.24 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1710023231000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”: “17.27 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1710023216000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”17.26 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”17.26″,”title”:”Wicket! Latham c Carey B Cummins 73 (New Zealand 155-3)”, ” Contributor”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Saturday, March 9, 2024 17:55 EST”,”SecondaryDateLine”:”First published Saturday, March 9, 2024 16:31 EST”},{“id”:”65ea53f68f088169d3594062 “,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Welcome to day three and a second Test on a knife’s edge.
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After 14 wickets fell on a frenetic opening day, Day Two took a different path – surging then steadying before eventually settling into the slow, delicious simmer of classic Test cricket.
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Thanks to Marnus Labuschagne (90) and tail-wagging from Nathan Lyon (20), Mitchell Starc (28) and Pat Cummins (23), Australia defied a seven wicket collapse after tea to build a 94-run first innings lead.
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But, inspired by Matt Henry’s magnificent haul of 7-47 and Glenn Phillips’ flying catch to deny Labuschagne his 12th Test century, New Zealand dug in and duked their way to a position of power at stumps.
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Kane Williamson and Tom Latham put on a partnership of 105 to wipe Australia’s lead and put the home side ahead. Some Pat Cummins magic got rid of Williamson for 51 but wicketkeeper Alex Carey undid the good work by dropping Latham late.
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Latham resumes on 65 not out this morning with the dangerous Rachin Ravindra – fresh from his epic 240 against South Africa last month – unbeaten on 11. It puts New Zealand 40 runs ahead on 134-2 with eight wickets in hand and three days to play.
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Can the Kiwis avenge their 172-run loss in Wellington last week? Is their first victory over Australia on home soil for 31 years slowly winking into existence? Or will normal service resume and see this all-conquering Australia side blast back into ascendancy?
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Buckle ‘em up and batten ‘em down, folks – the first ball of Day 3 is nigh!
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important events
61 overs: New Zealand 177-3 (Ravindra 36, Mitchell 8) Cummins corners Lyon. Mitchell successfully reverse-swept the second delivery of the single as it traveled along the patchwork turf here at Hagley Oval. Ravindra tries a different tactic and steps back and hits a high elbow into the ground for a single. Mitchell tried the reverse sweep again in the fourth, but Steve Smith fell into the leg-slip trap and started moving the moment Mitchell developed his stroke, making four saves at bat. Smudge’s strange skills.
60 overs: New Zealand 174-3 (Ravindra 35, Mitchell 6) Top edge! However, it fell into space and Ravindra survived. It was a sweet blow from Cummins. The Black Caps’ young prodigy reflected midway through his hook shot. Again the intent was offensive. Ravindra is a batsman who supports himself. He’s not a coward. Thus he hit the boundary line for the third time in his 72-ball innings.
59 overs: New Zealand 165-3 (Ravindra 31, Mitchell 6) Need a spark? Bring me Stark. And soon Big Mitch pulls a swish and a mish from Rachin Ravindra. First up was a beautiful ball from the man who had passed Dennis Lilley on the list of wicket-takers in the first innings. Ravindra congratulated him in his own way on his feat as the four of them gently raced down the ground.
58 overs: New Zealand 165-3 (Ravindra 26, Mitchell 6) Almost out of stock! Ravindra, a non-striker, departed for singles, but Mitchell, who has a habit of overcompensating for his lack of scoring with more than a decibel load, sends him back.
Simon McMahon commented: “Angus in the evening. I watched Mitch Marsh’s speech for the first time and I’m not crying. It’s just raining on my face. We need more of that, please. What a guy. Still rooting for New Zealand. Masu.”
Go with the flow, Simon. The best things happen when I’m making lasagna.
57 overs: New Zealand 163-3 (Ravindra 26, Mitchell 4) Mitchell gets a good leg two after passing Hazlewood on toe-to-toe. This time Ravindra tilts his bat and slides two to third man. After taking 5-31 from 1 minute and 3 overs in the first innings, Hazlewood took 0-43 from 18 overs in the second innings. New Zealand lead by 69 points.
56 overs: New Zealand 157-3 (Ravindra 23, Mitchell 1) Alex Carey could breathe a little easier. His fumble against Latham last night only cost the team a few points, and he was the key to Cummins confirming the double noise his captain detected. Darryl Mitchell is currently missing in the playing crease. I know he’s a senior player in this team – 32 years old – but he’s only played 22 Tests and looked very dangerous in every series.
Wicket! Latham C Carey B Cummins 73 (New Zealand 155-3)
Cummins attacks! He took the ball backwards and fell back a bit, but caught the Latham defense. Immediately two noises could be detected and the referee said, “Yeah, but oh well.” But when Cummins checked, he saw a slight mark from the bat before it hit his thigh pad. Australia’s early breakthrough!
55 overs: New Zealand 155-2 (Latham 73, Ravindra 22) Australia’s Miss Field! It was closed by the normally impeccable Marnus Labuschagne, whose fumble from the spot gave Ravindra three points. Latham also scored three points, pushing Hazlewood into the midfield. Ravindra is now in his 20s, but we know he can go big…
54 overs: New Zealand 149-2 (Latham 70, Ravindra 19) Cummins has his sights set on the wood here, changing pace and trying to catch Latham lbw. No major movements have been detected so far. How long before we see Nathan Lyon? He has bowled only six overs in this innings so far. Cummins gives birth to a maiden.
53 overs: New Zealand 149-2 (Latham 70, Ravindra 19) If Josh Hazlewood was disappointed that Carey dropped Latham last night, he didn’t show it. Cold as ice, he winced, spun on his heel, and set off again. Now he’s charging hard, intent on blowing up Latham’s second life before it gets even bigger. Everything goes to plan for five balls as smart length bowling keeps the batsman pinned to the crease. But Latham leant into the final ball, which was a little fuller and straighter, and clipped it against the fence for four points.
52 overs: New Zealand 144-2 (Latham 66, Ravindra 18) Statement of Intent from Pat Cummins. He keeps Stark on the ice and casts the opening spell himself. The captain bowled brilliantly last night to bring out Kane Williamson. But Ravindra quickly accepted the challenge, rising on his toes and slamming the second ball into the ropes. Run with the next single. Latham is the executive of the partnership, but Ravindra is a danger to Australia. Young and aggressive, with a keen eye and plenty of strokes, he was able to quickly extend this 50-point lead.
51st over: New Zealand 138-2 (Latham 65, Ravindra 13) Josh Hazlewood must have miscounted his run-up. He starts the day with an uncharacteristic no-ball. As Mitchell Marsh’s run-out attempt bounced awkwardly off the stumps, Ravindra hit a quick single to earn Bergen a bonus run. Now the edge! But Ravindra’s soft hands sent the ball bouncing to Steve Smith at second slip. He readjusted his mark and took a half step forward. Australia are still smart from last night’s Alex Carey diving fumble which saved Tom Latham. How much does it cost?
Experts are calling this day the day he will be at bat. The Hagley Oval turnstiles show little sign of cracking and still have a green tint to them. The Wee Nor’easter is approaching, and the sky is blue and cloudless. Mitch Marsh said the cricket wickets had been good over the previous two days. “Who can break the match for Australia? “If possible, it’s me!”
As Josh Hazlewood marks his run-up for the first over of the day, here’s another quiz on Marsh’s now legendary Allan Border Medal speech…
Here at Hagley Oval we have blue skies and a light breeze. Australia will do everything in their power to break through quickly. New Zealand will try hard to survive this first session and hope to make hay later in the day. As the condition of the bat is improving by the minute, the Black Caps need to significantly strengthen this 40-point lead and give Australia a big chase that will fray their nerves and make them mischievous.
Merv Hughes, who took 212 wickets in 53 Tests, stands on the ground today sporting his trademark handlebar mustache, now as white as the foam of 1989 Foster’s Lager. Apparently he grew his hair out while backpacking around Australia when he was younger and hasn’t shaved it since. This was his hat-trick ball against West Indies in 1988-89, complete with a trademark Swabin Marvin send-off.
For those of you who joined us late, here’s what day two was like.
preamble
Welcome to day three. This is his second test on a knife edge.
After a frenetic first day in which 14 wickets fell, the second day went a different way. It spiked, then stabilized, and eventually settled into a slow and delicious stew of classic Test cricket.
Thanks to a flurry of performances from Marnus Labuschagne (90 points), Nathan Ryan (20 points), Mitchell Starc (28 points) and Pat Cummins (23 points), Australia managed to overcome a seven-wicket collapse after tea. They built a 94-point lead in the first inning.
But inspired by Matt Henry’s impressive 7-47 record and Glenn Phillips’ flying catch to deny Labuschagne his 12th century, New Zealand stormed their way to power at the stumps. .
Kane Williamson and Tom Latham put on a 105-goal partnership to erase Australia’s lead and put the home side ahead. Pat Cummins’ magic took Williamson out for 51, but wicketkeeper Alex Carey undone the good work by slowing Latham down.
Latham resumed this morning with the dangerous Rachin Ravindra – fresh off his 240 against South Africa last month – on 65 not out, making it unbeaten in 11 matches. He took eight wickets and led New Zealand by 40 points at 134-2 with three days remaining. .
Can the Kiwis make amends for conceding 172 goals against Wellington last week? Is a first win against Australia on home soil in 31 years becoming a reality? Or will normal service resume and this all-conquering Australian team regain momentum?
Buckle up and guess, everyone – the first game of day 3 is almost here!
