It’s the hope that kills you

By Aiden McLaughlin

It was a day that started with hope, if not expectation.

It was also a day that started with acknowledgment; celebration even, as two of New Zealand’s finest took the field with some of their children, 100 not out for both Kane Williamson and Tim Southee, two Test careers that have shared notable highs, as well as plenty of lows.

As the crowd of just over 7,000 queued around the perimeter gates of Hagley Oval  from early this morning, on a sunny, if increasingly windy day in Christchurch, most will have hoped that it would be New Zealand’s day. But after an encouraging first hour and a bit, things unraveled quickly, and potentially decisively.

It was no surprise that when he won the toss, Australian captain Pat Cummins chose to bowl. In twelve previous Tests here, only one captain has chose to bat first. In 2016, Australia’s only previous Test here, it was Steve Smith that called correctly and chose to bowl first on the way to a seven wicket victory.

Australia lined up as they did in the first Test in Wellington. New Zealand made one change; debutant Ben Sears replacing the injured Will O’Rourke, meaning Mitchell Santner again carried the drinks as the home side chose four seamers.

After a weak performance with the bat at the Basin, a strong start was imperative for the home side. It started encouragingly. Tom Latham, in particular, looked comfortable as the first hour progressed. Will Young, in need of a score even more than Latham, more watchful, but that was understandable and also acceptable. See out the new ball, make hay as the day goes on.

By the 12th over, Nathan Lyon had entered the attack; after two overs, Mitchell Marsh replaced him at the Port Hills end. In little more than an hour, Cummins was using his fifth different bowler, seeking the breakthrough the toss demanded.

It was Starc, in the 19th over of the day, that burst the Blackcaps bubble. Having been dropped by Head off the bowling of Cummins about 40 minutes before, Young was first to depart, squared up by the left-armer, a leading edge taken nicely by Marsh at third slip.

Latham had been starting to find his flow, hitting seven boundaries, and becoming the first batter to score 1,000 runs at Hagley Oval. But then his hard work was undone by the impressive Josh Hazlewood, with Carey taking the catch.

Suddenly it was the master and the apprentice at the crease for New Zealand, Rachin Ravindra joining the Test centurion Williamson. The first job, see it through until lunch, keep things tight. New Zealand’s number four couldn’t manage it though, playing a rash shot to Australia’s best on display, Hazlewood, that saw him caught by Usman Khawaja at first slip. It was an odd one. Did Williamson not have a word before that last over and suggest Ravindra sees it out, or did him and Ravindra couldn’t help himself? Whatever happened, it was suddenly Australia’s session at 71-3.

After the lunch break, hope still existed. Kane was there, Daryl Mitchell too. They could, you know, steady the ship. Before long both had gone, Hazlewood’s third and fourth victims and New Zealand had slumped from 47-1 to 84-5.

From there, respite lasted all of five overs before three wickets fell in four balls with the Blackcaps stuck on 107. Mitchell Starc accounted for Glenn Phillips who gloved one down the leg side to Carey. Next ball, the familiar full delivery reared its head, swinging in to Scott Kuggleijn who didn’t need a ball like that at the best of times, never mind before he’d had a chance to get his feet moving. From there, Cameron Green, Australia’s sixth bowler, took the wicket of Tom Blundell, out in similar fashion to Phillips.

Could the tail wag? Would Southee play a captain’s innings on his special day? Well, he and Matt Henry managed to put together the highest partnership of the innings, scoring 55 before Southee and then Henry were both dismissed with the score on 162. It had taken just 45.2 overs to dismiss the Blackcaps and saw an early tea taken. After an encouraging start, they had lost 10 wickets for 115 in 26.3 overs. As well as the Australians bowled, there were too many bad decisions, too many rash shots, and there are now too many batsmen out of form against the World Test Champions.

The hope, the optimism, returned to some of the home supporters during the tea break. There was encouragement for Southee and Henry with the new ball early on, but it was the new cap Sears who made the breakthrough, taking the wicket of Steve Smith with his third ball in Test cricket.

Matt Henry took Khawaja’s leg stump in the last ball of his seventh consecutive over to make it 32-2 and the crowd took heart. Indeed it was Henry that showed himself to be far and away the home side’s top perfomer on day one, taking another two wickets, as he dismissed Green and Head to finish the day with figures of 3-39.

Had the Blackcaps posted a decent first innings total, then their effort with the ball, impressive as it was, would have had the Australians under considerable pressure in this Test, but the fact is that yet again, their batting has been under par and they are the ones under pressure, with a lead of just 38 with the Australians having six first innings wickets remaining.

A sell out Saturday crowd on dress-up day will need to bring the hope again. More importantly, New Zealand need six more wickets quickly to have any chance of leveling this series.

#Statchat

• In their first three innings in this series, New Zealand have scored a total of 537 runs (179, 196 & 162)
• Over the same period, their top seven have scored a total of 362 runs (131, 130, 101)
• In Tests at Hagley Oval, Tom Latham has the most runs with 1,009 (13 matches). Next best is Kane Williamson with 713 (10 matches)
• Josh Hazlewood’s 5-31  today means he now has 23 wickets for 246 runs in his last three and a half Test matches (including two Tests against West Indies)
• Ben Sears is Test cap 287 for New Zealand

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