The History of Australia-New Zealand Tests

• 1945/46: the first ever Test between the two countries
• 1970s
• 1980s
• 1990s

Nevertheless, the visitors came horribly underprepared. Continuing a dismal run of form which had seen them lose each of their previous matches on tour, they were punished by the Australians throughout the three and a half days during which the first of a three Test series was played in Melbourne. To compound their already overawed state, they grassed chances to catch Keith Stackpole (122) four times before he reached his half century in an Australian innings which ultimately spilled to 8/462. Their gamble to select opener Glenn Turner a mere three weeks after he had broken a finger also backfired - he was struck a painful blow on the offending hand early in New Zealand's unremarkable first innings of 237, was dismissed for 6, and was then unable to bat as his team followed on. It was merely Ken Wadsworth (80 and 30) who provided the sort of twin innings defiance that was appropriate; the lack of general support afforded him against an attack led by debutant medium pacer Gary Gilmour (4/75 and 0/16) and off spinner Ashley Mallett (2/46 and 4/63) ensuring that the Kiwis tumbled inexorably to defeat by an innings and 25 runs.

The Second Test produced a dramatic turnaround, and easily New Zealand's best performance against Australia to that point of its international career. In short, it was only Sydney's rain which denied them their first win. Two days were wiped out and yet they were still just eight wickets short of applying the finishing touches to a triumph that had been set up by some fine batting from John Parker (108), John Morrison (117) and Brian Hastings (83), and superb bowling from brothers Richard (4/33) and Dayle (3/52) Hadlee. The degree of Richard Hadlee's accuracy and control in fact represented an ominous sign of things to come.

The Third Test then reverted to type, Australia winning by an innings and 57 runs in Adelaide after Rod Marsh (132), Doug Walters (94) and Kerry O'Keeffe (85) thoroughly demoralised their opponents with the bat, and debutant Geoff Dymock (2/44 and 5/58) did the same with the ball. Left arm spinner David O'Sullivan (5/148), captain Bevan Congdon (71*), and the rain-inspired abandonment of the fourth day, all conspired to push the match into its last hour, but Australia's success was never really in doubt. Nonetheless, the game did end in considerable acrimony - the umpires refuting Congdon's claim that the light was unfit for play through the closing stages.

Captains: IM Chappell (Aus) and BE Congdon (NZ)

Australia 2 New Zealand 0.

1973-74 (in New Zealand)

It was in Christchurch and the second match of the series that New Zealand recorded its long awaited maiden Test win against Australia. Turner (101 and 110*) was the hero, becoming the first player in history to score a century in each innings of a Test for New Zealand. It was his batting which was crucial in establishing a thirty-two run first innings lead and then again in holding his team together as it chased the testing target of 228 to clinch victory. The impact of the Hadlee brothers, Richard (3/59 and 4/71) and Dayle (1/42 and 4/75), was also telling; Australia dismissed for 223 and 259 and surrendering in the final analysis by a margin of five wickets amid scenes of understandable jubilation from the local supporters.

For all of the unbridled joy naturally associated with such a victory, however, it did not take long for there to be a reversion to the pattern of Australian dominance of the teams' early encounters. This came in the form of a thumping 297 run triumph for the visitors in the Third Test in Auckland. It was a win largely based around the batting of Walters (104) and Ian Redpath (159), whose respective contributions were vital in permitting scores of 221 and 346 to be attained. By the end of the Test, the efforts of Gilmour, Mallett and Max Walker in snaring eighteen of the twenty New Zealand wickets to fall in struggling innings of 112 and 158 could not be underplayed either.

Captains: BE Congdon (NZ) and IM Chappell (Aus)

New Zealand 1 Australia 1.

1976-77

In registering the highest ever individual score in Test matches between the nations, it was Walters (250) who set the tone for the proceedings of 1976-77. His outstanding 394 minute innings, together with a first Test century from Gilmour (101) and an all-time Australian seventh wicket record partnership of 217 runs between the pair of them, guided the visitors to a first innings score of 552 in Christchurch in the first of a two match series. From there, it was purely a matter of survival for the New Zealanders and it took nothing less than another tremendous second innings contribution from Congdon (107*) for them to accomplish the task. Supported heroically through the final hour by Dayle Hadlee (8*), Congdon fortified his team with a lionhearted effort after the bowling of O'Keeffe (5/101 and 1/56) and Walker (3/66 and 4/65) appeared to have placed the Australians firmly on the path to success.

If the first match had provided a stage for Walters, then the Second Test (played a week later at Eden Park in Auckland) allowed another Australian hero of the time to even more emphatically showcase his talents. On this occasion, it was indeed the great fast bowler Dennis Lillee (5/51 and 6/72) who stole the show and settled the series virtually single-handedly. Although he was resisted by a fine double in the lower order from Richard Hadlee (44 and 81), Lillee was supreme in this match. In what was to prove the immediate forerunner of his sensational heroics in the 1977 Centenary Test, he captured eleven New Zealand wickets, took two catches, and added an unbeaten 23 with the bat for good measure. Having compiled a mere 229 and 175 in the face of the Western Australian paceman's hostility, the Kiwis were on the back foot throughout, and Australia cruised to its ten wicket victory with nearly two full days to spare.

Captains: GM Turner (NZ) and GS Chappell (Aus)

Australia 1 New Zealand 0.