Chris Rosie
|
New Zealand v Australia at Auckland Chris Rosie |
|
|
Australia 2nd innings:
New Zealand 2nd innings: Australia 1st innings: Pre-game: New Zealand 1st innings: |
McMillan helped himself to a four sweeping Warne through midwicket, Parore collected four leg byes courtesy of his arm protector from a Lee bouncer that cleared a leaping Gilchrist. That was Parore's last contribution. In the 19th over of the day, he drove casually into the covers where a diving Steve Waugh accepted the gift. Parore gone for 26 with the score at 195, still 86 behind with three wickets remaining.
Daniel Vettori joined and watched as McMillan took nine off Warne before Lee ended the brave innings, getting the edge of a defending bat for Warne to take the catch at first slip. McMillan contributed 78 to the total at that stage of 204.
Miller took over from Warne but the master spinner was again in the act at first slip before any advance in the score, taking the catch off the edge of Vettori's defensive prod from the sixth ball of Miller's first over in his new spell. The wicket gave the off-spinner his first five-wicket bag in tests.
Paul Wiseman joined Simon Doull for the last partnership of the match, New Zealand still requiring 77. By the application of good management interspersed with the occasional piece of luck, they advanced the score to 218 before the reintroduction of Warne in the 74th over brought an end to the innings. Wiseman offered one defiant pull through midwicket before succumbing sweeping, the ball ballooning up off the glove and arm for Gilchrist to take the catch.
The wicket gave Warne two for 80 off 20 overs but more important it took him to 356 in Tests, claiming the Australian record he equalled the previous day.
Miller ended the innings with his best test figures, five for 55 off 18 overs, while Lee, two for 36 off 12, and McGrath, one for 31 off 23, completing the effort.
The win by 62 runs took Australia to eight in succession, equalling the country's best and adding extra interest to the Wellington test beginning on March 24.
Glenn McGrath bowled the first over of the morning under passing dark clouds and in a cooling southerly, attacking with just two slips, defending with a third man and fine leg and adding to the tension with a maiden.
Colin Miller, with his off-spin, took up the attack from the Dominion Road end, opened with a slip and a short leg, and didn't need them. Without any addition to the overnight score of 151, Cairns tried to hit the fifth ball of the over beyond midwicket and succeeded only in picking out a leaping Steve Waugh.
Adam Parore joined McMillan and immediately found himself under close-in attention as Waugh bolstered the attack with a leg slip and a short cover to complete the square around the New Zealand wicket-keeper. At the other end in the fifth over, McMillan's first attempt at a forcing shot took the inside edge and fell just short of the glove of a diving Adam Gilchrist.
Parore brought up the first runs off the bat in the sixth over, turning Miller past the short leg. He then celebrated by taking a further 12 off the over with two sixes over midwicket. The sudden avalanche of runs prompted the replacement of Miller with Shane Warne. The expectant hush settled once again over the sparsely populated arena.
The hush did not extend to McMillan as he took nine off the leg-spinner's second over. For McGrath, the New Zealand pair adopted a defensive strategy dominated by judicious leaving.
The pair survived through to lunch, reducing the deficit to under 100 in the 15th over of the morning.
New Zealand went to lunch at 183 for six, 98 behind with McMillan on 64, Parore on 23. McGrath's morning had offered just five runs from eight overs in an hour that had seen the addition of 32.
Taking quick singles on balls played directly to the fielders increased the tempo and if the Australians needed any further message that they were in a battle, McMillan provided it in the 33rd over, cutting Lee for four and then clearing the long on boundary to bring up his 50 off 50 balls in 59 minutes.
Waugh went for a double change, McGrath for Lee and Warne for Miller. An expectant hush descended on the ground as Warne prepared to spin his web once again. It was justified. With the second ball of the second over of his new spell, he produced his classic, pitching outside leg and bowling Astle behind his legs. Astle went for 35 with the score at 121, the partnership ending at 78 - and Warne had equalled Dennis Lillee's Australian record of 355 wickets.
Chris Cairns joined his Canterbury team-mate with the shadows lengthening and 45 minutes left before stumps. Concentration on defence suggested the wagons had been circled with New Zealand intent to live on to fight another day.
McMillan survived a confident appeal for leg before from McGrath and proceeded to rub salt in, beating a diving square leg for four. The quiet period had clearly been temporary. In Warne's next over, Cairns took 14 - a six over square leg, a cover drive and a jab through to the long-on boundary.
McGrath continued to give the batsmen trouble, managing late in the day to get sufficient pace and movement late in the day to beat them on occasions and extract resolute defence on others while offering very little to feed off, his seven-over spell yielding just 11 runs.
The New Zealand 150 came up in 274 minutes off 180 balls and the pair survived through to stumps, ending the day with the score at 151 for five, McMillan on 57 and Cairns on 20. With New Zealand needing 130 to win with five wickets in hand and Shane Warne needing just one of those to become Australia's greatest wicket-taker, the fourth day looms full of interest.
McGrath and Miller continued the attack for Australia. Sinclair looked good against the pace, straight driving McGrath for four. But he was not around long enough to profit, taking a sharply turning ball from Miller on the front pad and being given leg before by Sri Venkat.
Sinclair, gone for six with the score at 25 for two, was replaced by the New Zealand captain who survived a searching examination by Miller before having to watch as Spearman, on four, squared up to McGrath, who won the leg-before demand from umpire Bowden. Twenty-five for two had quickly become 25 for three in the 13th over.
Nathan Astle joined Fleming and was given a couple of overs to settle in before being subjected to the main event of the day, the introduction of Shane Warne, replacing McGrath at the Sandringham Road end in the 17th over. Astle was not suitably impressed, reaching for the first ball in ungainly fashion to cut it through extra cover. Nor was the Fleming, lofting the leg-spinner over the inner field to the midwicket boundary. Warne's first over went for 11.
Miller had more luck, in the next over getting the finest of edges from Fleming for Gilchrist to take the catch, the New Zealand captain gone for eight with the score 43.
Craig McMillan joined Astle in conditions hardly conducive to playing back into form. He was certainly not about to fall wondering, charging Warne for a four over mid on, bringing up the New Zealand 50 in the 19th over, and driving Miller for two fours while offering a defence heart-stopping in its seeming fragility.
The spinners and the shot-making batsmen settled in for an engrossing battle, the increasingly better-organised defence being put aside for the occasional clean hitting of anything inviting. The approach took New Zealand past the 200 deficit in the 25th over.
In the 27th over, Steve Waugh turned to his pace attack to break the stubborn partnership, bringing back Lee to replace Warne, whose five overs had cost him 31 runs without bringing him any closer to the Australian test wicket record.
The last drinks break of the day arrived with New Zealand on 91 for four.
Gilchrist immediately settled back in where he left off, employing the sweep to good effect against the continuing Vettori and Wiseman. However, he did not do so well with what appeared an attempted loft over midwicket, the ball going straight to Fleming with the score at 214, Gilchrist departing for 59 in 115 minutes.
Vettori's 11th wicket of the match set him on the road to the best Test match figures by a New Zealand spinner, eclipsing John Bracewell's 10 for 109.
Colin Miller joined Lee, took a six off Wiseman before becoming Vettori's 12th victim of the match, charging the spinner in the 28th over of the day, the 77th of the innings, and being stumped by Parore for eight.
Last man Glenn McGrath strode to the wicket with the score at 226, looked all at sea to the spinners and was put out of his misery by Wiseman, given leg before by Brent Bowden trying to sweep in the 78th over of the innings. Lee was left six not out and the innings closed at 229.
Vettori dominated the bowling, his seven for 87, added to his first innings performance, gave him 12 for 149, the second best match figures for a New Zealander behind Sir Richard Hadlee's 15 for 123 in Brisbane.
Matthew Horne and Craig Spearman began the New Zealand chase for 281 to win under sunny skies at one minute after three with two and a half days available - weather permitting. Australia began in conventional fashion with the pace of McGrath from the Sandringham Road end and Lee from in front of the terraces.
Horne picked up the first boundary of the innings, setting New Zealand hearts thumping with an aerial cut past a diving third slip off Lee in the fourth over.
It was not surprising to see Lee replaced by Miller, the change having immediate effect, Horne pushing the third ball onto his pad and then to Langer under the helmet. Horne gone for 11 with the total 15 in the eighth over.
At tea, New Zealand were at the same score with Mathew Sinclair having joined Spearman.
Shane Warne joined Gilchrist and immediately swept Wiseman behind square for four while the Australian wicket-keeper gave the same bowler the treatment, swinging him into the grandstand at wide midwicket. However, the Australian progress was halted, not by the New Zealand bowlers but by the arrival of the forecast rain.
The players left the field in the 21st over of the morning after 90 minutes play with Australia 186 for six. Play resumed after a 12-minute break for Wiseman to complete an over that cost 14 runs and during which Gilchrist went to his 50 in 96 minutes off 84 balls.
The Australians' commitment to attack as defence forced Fleming to reduce his close-in cordon and strengthen the boundary. Warne continued to pepper it, taking two fours from Vettori but the left-arm spinner had his revenge, Warne's third big hit of the 22nd over going only as far as Wiseman running in from backward point to take the dollied catch. The Australian vice-captain's 12 came from just seven balls, in the process bringing up the 200 in 262 minutes off 424 balls. The wicket gave Vettori his 10th for the match.
Brett Lee joined Gilchrist and was there long enough to see Wiseman beat his defence, the stumps and Parore for four byes before rain again drove the players from the field in the 24th over of the morning. Lunch was taken at that point with the score 206 for seven, Gilchrist on 51, Lee on 0.
With Australia on 114 for five overnight, Damien Martyn, on 10, and Adam Gilchrist, four, set about increasing the 165-run advantage. It was no surprise, with the ball 49 overs old, that Paul Wiseman and Daniel Vettori should continue where they left off the previous day on the spinner-friendly track.
The Australians negotiated the early overs with the occasional trauma, Martyn clamping down on Wiseman and seeing the ball shave the leg stump and go away for four courtesy of a third umpire ruling over a diving Cairns, Gilchrist charging Vettori and getting a fine edge past Adam Parore behind the stumps.
Gilchrist had clearly settled on a sweeping attack as the best form of defence, taking fours past square leg from both bowlers. Vettori in particular suffered, going for 12 off the sixth over of the morning. However, it was Wiseman who was replaced first, giving way to Simon Doull at the Sandringham Road end in the ninth over. Gilchrist, looking increasingly comfortable, welcomed the pace man with a straight drive for four.
The Australia pair brought up the 150 in the 12th over of the morning, taking 217 minutes and 359 balls. Martyn celebrated with a back-foot drive through the covers off Vettori.
Doull's spell was short, just two overs, Wiseman returning in the 13th over to be cut and swept by Martyn, bringing up the 50 partnership off 101 balls, speedy scoring in the context of this match.
Drinks were taken at the end of the 17th over with the score on 174 for five, Gilchrist having a life in that over, a diving Cairns just failing to take him at backward point from Wiseman.
Martyn enjoyed the same luxury in Wiseman's next over, bringing up the 100 in 134 minutes off 227 balls. Wiseman was ready for a break, the last two overs of his spell going for 19 runs. His relief came in the form of Simon Doull, the new-ball bowler finally getting the batsmen in his sights in the 40th over of the innings.
At the other end, Vettori continued to probe, giving nothing away. It took the Australian pair seven overs to go from 100 to 107. In the 45th over, Vettori's persistence bore fruit. Coming forward, Waugh had smothered the turn well but going back he looked less comfortable and finally he was trapped half way, Vettori getting turn and bounce, taking the edge and Parore completing a smart catch.
The difficulties of batting were evident in Waugh's taking 94 minutes for his 25. Adam Gilchrist joined Martyn with the score on 107 and 10 minutes to negotiate until stumps. Fleming brought back Wiseman for Doull in an attempt to winkle out a final wicket.
The ploy was not successful, the Australian innings ending the day at 114 for five, Martyn on 10 and Gilchrist on four. Vettori's efforts had left him one short of his century of test wickets, his uninterrupted spell of 21 overs conceding just 38 runs as he added three wickets to his tally. Wiseman ended with one for 56 off 21 overs, the 19 runs off the two overs at the end of his 19-over spell spoiling what had been a tight contribution.
Cairns took one for 13 off four overs at the top of the innings and was not needed again while Doull had a short trot late in the day, his three overs conceding just three runs. It was undoubtedly the spinners' innings.
Australia ended the day with a 165-run advantage, five wickets in hand and looking at the prospect of a Shane Warne benefit on the third day.
However, Blewett's enjoyment was short-lived. Without further advancing his score, he attempted to cut Vettori, got a fine edge that Parore failed to hold but, to the wicket-keeper's relief, the ball deflected into Craig Spearman's waiting hands at first slip. With a Mark Waugh cut for four, two imploring appeals for leg before and the 50 being brought up in 68 minutes, the 19th over ended as one of the more eventful of the innings.
That was the exception as Langer and Waugh kept a watchful eye on the spin duo, the few shots in anger going directly to fieldsmen. From the 20th over to the 27th, the pair had added just 11 runs. Langer attempted to rectify the balance, successfully at first, swinging Vettori again into the wide midwicket stand, but not so successfully at the second attempt, a similar shot sending the ball high but not far. Astle ran from midwicket toward square leg to take the catch, Langer departing for 47, impressed neither with getting out nor with the bowler's parting comments.
Captain Steve Waugh arrived with the score at 67 for three and signalling immediately his intention not to be tied down. Both Wiseman and Vettori were despatched to the extra-cover boundary and brother Mark joined in, swinging Wiseman over midwicket for four more as the scoring accelerated.
But it was not to last. In the 32nd over, Wiseman induced Steve Waugh to drive and accepted the return catch with pleasure, Drinks were taken with Waugh's departure for for 10 with the score at 81.
Slater looked all purpose but appearances served only to deceive, the opener's poor run of form continuing with a drive in Cairn's second over straight to Matthew Horne at mid-off. Slater's six gave him a total of 11 for the match, Cairns getting him both times.
Justin Langer joined Blewett, whose approach to Wiseman was to come down to meet the off-spinner. At the other end Cairns was also containing the Australian pair until in his fourth over he made the mistake of dropping short to Langer, who made him pay, 10 coming off the over.
That encouraged Stephen Fleming to make a change, replacing Cairns with Vettori in the ninth over of the innings. That also encouraged Langer to pick up where he left off in the first innings, finding the grandstand at wide midwicket as the left-arm spinner went for nine off his second over.
However, Blewett was not finding the spinners too much to his liking, surviving a demanding appeal for a bat-pad catch at short leg in the 12th over off Wiseman and dropping one just wide of Fleming at first slip off Vettori.
Australia went to tea at the end of the 16th over on 38 for one, with Blewett on four, taking one minute short of the hour, and Langer on 27 from 47 minutes.
However, it was a change of pace that undid Cairns. Miller, whose spell of 13 overs either side of lunch had yielded just 16 runs for Fleming's wicket, was replaced by McGrath at the Dominion Road End in the 10th over after lunch. He immediately had Cairns pushing forward, the ball taking a fine edge and going through to Gilchrist to complete the catch.
Cairns departed for 35, top score in the New Zealand innings of 134 to that point.
Daniel Vettori replaced Cairns while Miller was switched to the Sandringham Road End from where Warne had bowled unchanged since the start of play, his two wickets from the 20 overs in the spell costing 67 runs.
For the left-handed Vettori, Miller enjoyed the luxury of three slips and two in front of the wicket either side of the pitch. But again it was McGrath who brought Australia's required result, in the 44th over inducing Parore to take a swing at a ball outside leg only to very fine glove it on to Gilchrist with the score at 143.
Simon Doull, the last man, joined Vettori to complete what turned into an eventful over, Doull earning five as a run for a single turned into a boundary courtesy of a wild run-out throw at the bowler's end. He then watched as Vettori took to McGrath, square driving for four and then adding another straight, in the process bring up the 150 off 368 balls.
Doull was not to be left out, hitting Miller over long on for six.
However, the fun could not last, McGrath getting Doull to drive directly to Brett Lee at mid off, the number 11 contributing 12 of the 163 total, leaving Vettori not out on 15.
McGrath ended up with the best bowling figures, ironically on a spinners' pitch, his four wickets coming from 11.1 overs and costing 33 runs. Warne, with three, Lee, two, and Miller, one, shared the rest of the spoils.
McMillan and Chris Cairns set about another rebuilding effort, neither looking comfortable as the Australian duo spun their web on the receptive pitch. The New Zealanders applied a mixture of hopeful and, at times, bemused defence and the occasional lusty blow, Cairns on one knee sweeping Warne for six behind square and straight driving Miller for four to bring up the 100 in 156 minutes off 237 balls.
Cairns had a life on 16, a charge to Miller turning into a frantic scramble to regain his ground only to see with relief Gilchrist fail to glove the ball before removing the bails. McMillan was not so lucky. In the next over, the 25th of the morning, he padded up to Warne, the ball pitching on leg and turning, and was given out by the visiting umpire Sri Venkat.
McMillan's departure for six with the score at 102 brought the New Zealand wicket-keeper, Adam Parore, to the crease, under pressure for his position after being dropped during the one-day series.
The pair survived to lunch with the score 110 for seven, still 104 behind on the first innings, Cairns not out 19 and Parore not out five.
Stephen Fleming brought further light to the proceedings, opening his account off the first ball of the morning with a cut past point for four to get off the 26 that represents the low point of New Zealand cricket. He then straight drove the third ball to take eight off Warne's first over.
However, Nathan Astle, the replacement for Paul Wiseman, out off the last ball of the previous day, found Warne more of a handful, the amount of turn encouraging Steve Waugh to add a second slip.
Astle looked more comfortable against Brett Lee, resuming from the Dominion Road End. The right hander restrained his tendency to wave outside the off stump in the early stage of his innings, driving, albeit aerially, through extra cover for four.
Astle brought the New Zealand 50 up in the ninth over of the morning with a sweep for four off Warne as the sun ended the need for artificial illumination. In the next, he brought the cut into play, sending Lee to the third man boundary before driving through the covers from the crease, Lee's seventh over yielding 10 runs.
Colin Miller took over from Lee in the 12th over of the morning, pace man's five-over spell costing 19 runs. Astle immediately looked less comfortable but at the other end Fleming brought up his 3000 runs in test cricket and then celebrated with a four backward of square off Warne, courtesy of a sliding miss by Miller on the slippery surface.
Drinks were taken after the 14th over with the score at 75 for four.
The attack fields for the respective bowlers were a study in contrasts: three slips, two gullies and a man under the helmet on the leg at one end, a quartered strategy, slip, leg slip and two under the helmets in front of the bat at the other.
But it was the man at point, Greg Blewett, who brought about Horne's early demise. The New Zealand opener, back after injury in the first test against the West Indies in December, offered an instinctive wave at a rising ball outside off in McGrath's second over and Blewett gratefully accepted the gift.
Horne's departure for three with the score five brought to the wicket the man who made the most of Horne's injury, Mathew Sinclair, double centurion in his debut test against the West Indies at Wellington.
Spearman brought the first boundary with a straight drive for four in Miller's fourth over but both batsmen had lives, Sinclair dropped by Warne at first slip off Miller and Spearman surviving a diving effort by Gilchrist off an inside edge, McGrath the unlucky bowler.
The New Zealanders had their first look at Warne in the 14th over, taking over from Miller at the Sandringham Rd end. It was not a happy one. Sinclair raised his bat, expecting the second ball of the over to turn away. It didn't and Sinclair was gone for eight, lbw with the score at 25.
Paul Wiseman was sent out as nightwatchman, survived four balls from Warne, and then had to watch as Spearman, on 12, cut at the second ball from McGrath's replacement at the Dominion Rd end, Brett Lee, and fell to a fine catch by Damien Martyn, diving to his right at third slip.
The New Zealand captain, Stephen Fleming, joined his nightwatchman, and watched as Wiseman faced Warne with six men and the keeper hanging on the end of his bat. Wiseman not only survived, he pulled a short one for a single that left him having to deal with the last over of the day from Lee. He saw out five balls but not the sixth, fast, full and straight through him.
With Wiseman departing for one, Lee was left to sleep blissfully on the figures of two overs, two maidens and two wickets. Warne closed on two overs for one run and the Australian record one wicket closer while McGrath will start tomorrow with one for 12 off seven overs and Miller with 13 runs off six overs.
The New Zealanders, for their part, will start the day on 26 for four, contemplating the waste of much of the good work done in the field.
Colin Miller was next in - and next out, Cairns going straight through his defence in the 62nd over with the score advanced by just one, courtesy of Mark Waugh.
Last man Glenn McGrath joined the Australian rock who was himself having some difficulty dealing with rising balls from a fired-up Cairns, the New Zealand pace bowler extracting more life from the pitch than at other stage of the day.
The pair saw the 200 up in the 65th over in 266 minutes, outlasting Cairns, replaced at the Sandringham Rd end by Wiseman. Cairns' spell of four overs was a marked advance on his previous work, going for just eight runs while claiming Miller's wicket.
The end was not long in coming, Vettori again catching McGrath's edge and Spearman taking the catch at first slip. McGrath made eight, Waugh ended up unbeaten on 72 and the innings closed at 214 in the 71st over.
For the New Zealand, Doull had an impressive return to test cricket, although going wicketless his 14 overs costing just 21 runs and, more important, his work in tandem with the spinners ensuring pressure remained on the Australians. Cairns was the most expensive, his two wickets off 18 overs coming at a cost of 71 runs, but his last spell was demanding.
However, it was, as expected, the spinners who did the damage, Vettori ending with five for 62 off 24 overs and Wiseman three for 49 off 14.
Six overs from the pair yielded just eight runs before Wiseman induced Gilchrist to sweep and visiting umpire Sri Venkat responded positively to the front-foot leg-before appeal with little hesitation. Gilchrist's departure in the 50th over for seven with the score at 161 brought in the vice-captain, Shane Warne, who immediately lofted Wiseman back over the bowler's head for four. Mark Waugh went two better, turning the same shot into a six, 11 coming from the off-spinner's 11th over.
Waugh had been a rock in the middle of the disarray around him and in the 54th over gained just reward, bringing up his 50 off 96 balls in 132 minutes and including five fours and one six.
Cairns replaced Wiseman in the 56th over, the spinner's five-over spell costing 21 runs for the addition of Gilchrist's wicket. He immediately had Waugh swinging, catching the bottom of the bat and the ball falling into mid-wicket no-man's land.
But it was at the other end that Australia's problems became more dire, Vettori catching the edge of Warne's bat for yet another slip catch, this time for Fleming at second. The number seven kept featuring, Warne gone for that score with the total 184 for seven.
Brett Lee joined Waugh and the pair saw Australia without further trauma through to tea at the end of the 59th over with the score at 189 for seven, Waugh on 59 and Lee on three.
Australian celebrations at that milestone, however, were quickly tempered in Vettori's third over when Steve Waugh failed to cover the turn, the ball took the edge and Craig Spearman, diving full length from first slip, took the catch where second slip would normally have been. The Australia captain gone for 17 with the score at 114 and a very lively step evident in the New Zealand field.
However, his replacement, Damien Martyn, quickly developed a liking for Cairns, taking 11 of the 37th over, including helping himself to two fours over the slips and gully cordon. It was no surprise to see Cairns depart, his four overs after lunch costing 22 runs. Doull resumed from the commentary box end and immediately had an inside edge from Waugh shaving the leg stump.
With Vettori, Doull put the brakes back on the scoring, the four overs to the 40th providing just four runs. And in the 41st it got even better for New Zealand. Martyn played a lazy-looking shot to the second ball of Vettori's 10th over for Astle at short cover to take the gift. Seventeen had become an Australian bogy; Martyn the third to depart with that score. Australia were 138 for five with wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist in much earlier than expected and immediately squared up by Doull as a message that it was no picnic out there.
Drinks were taken at the end of the 43rd over with the score 147 for five.
In the 16th over, Wiseman replaced Vettori at the commentary box end, the left-arm spinner's three overs having cost 25 runs. The off-spinner immediately extracted turn, beating batsman and keeper Adam Parore for four byes.
At the other end, Doull had put a break on the scoring, providing three maidens on the trot to Langer, occasionally troubling the left-hander and at all times keeping him watchful. But it was Wiseman who brought about Langer's downfall.
In his third over of the morning, during which he had already had Langer cutting and, along with Parore, missing, and then cutting square for four, the spinner beat a charging Langer for Parore to complete the dismissal. Umpire Bowden had every cause to be confident in his own decision, finding no need to call on his third colleague.
Langer's 46 had taken just 69 minutes off 47 balls but if anything his quick start had contributed to his demise, attempting to break the shackles Doull and Wiseman had applied, the previous three overs producing just one run.
Mark Waugh joined Blewett with the score on 77 but only one more was added before the opener, attempting to swing Wiseman way in his next over, got it only as far as Astle at midwicket. Blewett gone for 17 and, after being subjected to a lively start from the Australian batsmen, the New Zealanders had found the morning had definitely turned their way.
Doull gave way to Cairns in the 25th over, the Northern Districts pace bowler's 10 overs for the morning yielding up just 10 runs.
The Waugh brothers had 10 minutes together before lunch, time enough for Steve to remind Wiseman that he was not immune from Australian power, heaving the spinner over midwicket for six. Australia went to lunch at 97 for three with New Zealand well satisfied with the morning's work.
Justin Langer joined Blewett and the pair quickly brought Cairns back to earth, taking three fours between them off the over.
Predictions that spin would dominate the test were given early credence, Vettori replacing Doull at the commentary box end after nine overs. It was not a happy change. Vettori's first over went for 11 as Langer swept him for six and four over midwicket.
Langer showed a liking for the left-arm spinner, taking eight off his next over as the 50 came up, closely followed by the 50 partnership off 41 balls in 51 minutes.
At drinks the score was 64 for one.
New Zealand made Shayne O'Connor 12th man, going in with the dual pace attack of Chris Cairns and Simon Doull and the spin duo of Daniel Vettori and Paul Wiseman. Australia left out Matthew Hayden and Michael Kasprowicz, going in with the off-spin of Colin Miller to back Shane Warne.
Date-stamped : 15 Mar2000 - 14:23