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“We’ve played enough here to know it’s a good surface, it’s been under covers for the last 24 hours.”
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Pat Cummins confirms he would have done the same but says he isn’t too dissapointed as the wickets in Wellington tend to be decent. “I’m not too upset. Some first innings scores have been big here.”
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No captain has batted first upon winning the toss at The Basin since 2010. https://t.co/OefEHrhoAu pic.twitter.com/2logydzcCL
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) February 28, 2024
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Hello and welcome to the day one OBO of New Zealand v Australia at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. ‘The War of the Ditch!’ as absolutely no one is calling it. This series is proper appointment viewing – Australia return to New Zealand to play cricket after an eight year gap. Eight years! Neither captain Pat Cummins or searing southpaw Mitchell Starc has hauled on the cream flannels for a match on the green green grass of New Zealand.
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The two Test series (Boo!) is hotly anticipated, with ticket sales strong in both Wellington and Christchurch. This is perhaps a reflection on the fact that the Trans Tasman rivals don’t face up that often in the longest format (and aren’t scheduled to meet again until 2026/7) but also because they are two fine Test sides with stardust sprinkled across each XI.
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…The New Zealand public, who have just watched the Black Caps beat an understrength South Africa side 2-0, are ready for the challenge of their noisy neighbours, despite the odds. Somehow, from a population of just over five million, most of whom are obsessed with rugby union, the New Zealand cricket side not only won the World Test Championship in 2021 but head the current table (with England languishing down in eighth).
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But for all the outstanding, unexpected, success of the New Zealand Test team, the Australians are their brain fart, their soft underbelly, their recurring naked nightmare. The Black Caps have beaten Australia only once in a Test since 1993 – at Hobart in 2011. And they have have lost nine of their 10 home Tests against Australia in the 21st century. They followed on in the 10th, and saved it thanks to bad light and persistent rain rather than any memorable rearguard action.”
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Jim here with you for the first few sessions, there’s so much to dig into over the coming hours and days and I for one am positively fizzing to get into it all. In the meantime, here’s one Tanya Aldred prepared earlier – well worth a read of this scene setter as we approach the toss and final team news* in Wellington.
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Play gets underway at the Basin Reserve at 11am local/9am AEDT. Please do drop me a line on Email or tweet @Jimbo_Cricket with your musings, it’s always** a pleasure to hear from OBO followers around the globe. Righto, let’s do this shall we?
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*Cummins has already named his XI a day early, the confident so and so.
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**Almost always. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
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important events
1st over: Australia 1-0 (Smith 1, Khawaja 0) There seemed to be some movement in the air, but there wasn’t much of a drastic change off the pitch in the first over. Smith tickled the fourth ball from his hip to the side of his leg and scored the first run of the Test match. beauty! Southie edged past Usman Khawaja’s front overhang by one horse length. The sun peeking over Wellington’s Basin Reserve is picturesque.
The players sang the national anthem. Tim Southee is in good form and this will be his 99th Test match. He will confide in Steve Smith about the new orb. play!
We won the Buzz Ball and they won the Advanced Australia Fair. It was always moving.
— John Hotten (@theoldbatsman) February 28, 2024
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We won the Buzz Ball and they won the Advanced Australia Fair. It was always moving.
— John Hotten (@theoldbatsman) February 28, 2024
There are about 10 minutes left until the game starts. As cliché as it sounds, the first hour is critical. New Zealand will want to pick up wickets early on, and Australia have some deep-seated doubts that their batting cards are a bit out of date, especially with Steve Smith at the top of the opener followed by Marnus and Cameron Green. You want to soften it up.
New Zealand vs Australia: First Test, Day 1 – Live https://t.co/JjYGBKN2CR
— Guardian Sports (@guardian_sport) February 28, 2024
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A word about Neil Wagner, who was wearing bowling boots this week. He’s a very kind-hearted, well-rounded cricketer. I’ll miss him throwing punches in the middle of the pitch, but I don’t know if Steve Smith will…
Neil Wagner’s short ball masterclass vs. Steve Smith pic.twitter.com/BVYJXI8DuW
— Sweet (Thanks Wagner 🙏) (@Lommy0Tatham) February 26, 2024
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You don’t have to worry about Neil Wagner anymore. That’s clear from the way Steve Smith and the other batsmen have been practicing over the last few days in Wellington. There’s no need to put too much emphasis on preparing for short balls anymore.An ode to Wagner’s influence on them #NZvAus pic.twitter.com/7ZPNoklpN0
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) February 28, 2024
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You don’t have to worry about Neil Wagner anymore. That’s clear from the way Steve Smith and the other batsmen have been practicing over the last few days in Wellington. There’s no need to put too much emphasis on preparing for short balls anymore.An ode to Wagner’s influence on them #NZvAus pic.twitter.com/7ZPNoklpN0
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) February 28, 2024
Full house for first 3 days in Wellington And there’s a loud buzz around the place (you can hear it through the TV on the sofa in South London). The coverage began with a “walk and talk” of Anchorman/Alan Partridge having fun on camera. Someone must be cutting it out as we speak.
The confirmed teams are:
Australian Eleven 1 Stephen Smith, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Cameron Green, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Alex Carey (week), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins (captain) , 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood
New Zealand XI 1 Tom Latham, 2 Will Young, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips, 8 Scott Kuggelein, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Tim Southey (Captain), 11 William O’Rourke
New Zealand wins the toss and bowls first
Southie calls the coin correctly and sticks the visitors in the green!
“We’ve played here enough to know it’s a good surface. We’ve been hiding for the last 24 hours.”
Pat Cummins admitted he would have done the same, but said Wellington’s wickets tend to be decent so he wasn’t too disappointed. “I’m not too upset. Some first-time scores were big here.”
Since 2010, no captain has won the toss and decided to bat first at The Basin. https://t.co/OefEHrhoAu pic.twitter.com/2logydzcCL
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) February 28, 2024
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Tim Southey and Pat Cummins In the middle, wearing blazers… two of the most handsome cricketers in the world?
Kiwi pacer Scott Kuggelein He’s also been spotted marking run-ups on the ground, so unless he’s doing some twitchy Mitch Marsh-esque trickery, New Zealand will have a full-on pace attack, with bespectacled Mitchell Santner There would be wise money in resting the adjustment.
Every toss counts, the pitch is greener than a goblin’s thorns…erm. ankle There are some clouds floating overhead. that have How to be the first in the morning? However, Basin Reserve tends to flatten out, so runs can occur once you get through the first session.
It’s safe to say there’s already been a bit of a stir in Wellington this morning.…We had the small problem of rain and a 4.7 magnitude earthquake. Apparently it’s just a prank.
Adam Collins – Sometime in this parish; everytime There’s some shiny fluff on the ground and it looks a little foggy, but the weather will be nice for at least the next few days.
Morning rain, earthquakes and Test cricket – it was a great day in Wellington.@grantelliotnz and @Corin Saddam We will report the situation before playing at Basin Reserve.#NZvAUS | #PGGW Wrightson Turf | @SEN_cricket pic.twitter.com/5vQnT6l0eC
— SENZ (@SENZ_Radio) February 28, 2024
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preamble
james wallace
Hello. Welcome to the first day of OBO between New Zealand and Australia at Wellington’s Basin Reserve. “War of the ditches!” Because absolutely no one calls it that. This series is a proper appointment viewing. Australia returns to New Zealand to play cricket after her eight year gap. 8 years! Neither captain Pat Cummins nor fiery southpaw Mitchell Starc have ever worn cream flannel on their backs in a match on New Zealand’s green turf.
Two test series (Boo!) is highly anticipated and ticket sales are strong in both Wellington and Christchurch. This probably reflects the fact that the trans-Tasman rivals don’t play each other all that often in the longest format (and aren’t scheduled to play again until 2026/7), but also because they’re stardust-studded. Across each XI which is also a great Test team.
…Having just watched the Black Caps defeat an understrength South African team 2-0, New Zealanders are ready to take on the challenge of their raucous neighbours, despite the odds. Somehow, New Zealand’s cricket team, with a population of just over 5 million people, most of whom are passionate about rugby union, not only won the 2021 World Test Championship, but also topped the current standings. (England are in 8th place).
But despite the great and unexpected success of the New Zealand Test team, the Australians are a brain fart, a soft underbelly and a recurring naked nightmare to them. The Black Caps have only beaten Australia once in a Test since 1993, in Hobart in 2011. Since the beginning of the 21st century, they have lost nine out of 10 home Tests against Australia. They followed it up for the 10th time, saving it thanks to bad light and persistent rain rather than any memorable action from the rear guard. ”
Jim will be here with me for the first few sessions, but there’s a lot to dig into over the next few hours and days, and I’m actively working on tackling all of it. In the meantime, here’s what Tanya Aldred has previously prepared. As we approach the toss in Wellington and the news of his final team*, it’s well worth reading this scene of his setter.
Play begins at Basin Reserve at 11am local/9am AEDT.Please contact us by email or tweet @Jimbo_Cricket It’s always such a pleasure to hear your thoughts from OBO followers around the world. Mr. Uto, shall we do that?
*Cummins had already confidently named his eleven a day earlier.
**largely everytime. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
