Notes from the Basin I
Henry stars until Australia find a Green solution for green conditions, Southee stays binary and Wags gets a proper send-off ($)
Australia 279 for 9
When you win the toss and insert on a pitch that offers some assistance, the expectation is to make early inroads. To not do so is a missed opportunity. Analysis 101 says it must be so.
Yet New Zealand did not do a lot wrong, particularly in that fruitless first hour. As a collective, they bowled well. The ball was more often than not in the right areas and it nibbled around a bit - it was absorbing, at times excellent, first-session cricket. The only thing missing was bunches of runs and wickets.
Usman Khawaja (33) and Steve Smith (31) batted really, really well. Khawaja was leaving on length and Smith’s senses were finely tuned enough to play back, adjust and keep on top of the ball. They were batting so adroitly that it came as a surprise when Smith nicked and, having watched the horrors of the T20s, an even greater surprise when it wasn’t dropped.
Still, just one wicket for 62 seemed like a skinny reward at the break, but if New Zealand bowled well before lunch they were even better after. Matt Henry (4-43) in particular was getting it to talk and his set-up of Khawaja and knockout blow were almost Hadlee-esque in execution.
Marnus Labuschagne (1), Khawaja and Travis Head (1) all went in a frenetic half hour. For close to an hour Cam Green looked a ball away from joining them in the pavilion.