88 overs New Zealand 281 for 7 (Astle 23*, Parore 0*)

What started as a face-saving fightback was rapidly becoming a match-winning one when Brett Lee produced a peach to have Chris Cairns caught behind for 8. Cairns had thumped one magnificent straight drive when Lee went wide of the crease and took the edge with a delivery that was close to unplayable. New Zealand had fallen from 264 for 3 to 281 for 7 in the space of four overs, and it was Australia who were now holding the aces.

87 overs New Zealand 280 for 6 (Astle 23*, Cairns 8*)

A brilliant catch from Damien Martyn did for the nightwatchman Daniel Vettori as Australia grabbed their third wicket in four overs at the WACA. With Jason Gillespie rampant, Vettori prodded nervously and edged low to gully where Martyn took a low two-handed catch. What looked to be Lou Vincent's day was rapidly becoming Australia's.

85 overs New Zealand 270 for 5 (Astle 23*, Vettori 0*)

It was two in two overs as Jason Gillespie nailed Craig McMillan with another full inswinger that McMillan fell all over. The ball might have been swinging down the leg side, but after a Bucknor-esque delay, umpire Ian Robinson brandished his finger with a flourish and McMillan was gone for 4. The heat was on the Kiwis, and the good work of Lou Vincent and Stephen Fleming was being meticulously, ruthlessly undone.

84 overs New Zealand 264 for 4 (Astle 22*, McMillan 0*)

The pendulum was slowly, inexorably swinging back towards Australia as Brett Lee trapped Stephen Fleming lbw with a full-pitch inswinger that would probably have hit leg stump. Fleming played wearily all around it to end a fine 105, from 222 balls with 13 fours. There were six overs left, Lee was working up a fearsome pace, and Australia were one wicket away from a good day's work. 75 overs New Zealand 237 for 3 (Fleming 94*, Astle 12*)

It was after the Lord Mayor's Show at the WACA, as the dismissal of debutant centurion Lou Vincent precipitated a quiet passage of play. Stephen Fleming was determined not to throw away either his side's good position or his own chance of a third Test hundred. Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were turning the screw, and Fleming had made only 5 from 28 deliveries since Vincent fell.

66 overs New Zealand 218 for 3 (Fleming 89*, Astle 0*) Finally Australia got rid of Lou Vincent - but it took a poor decision and a Mark Waugh special to do so. Shane Warne tempted him with a delivery that was tossed a little higher and a little wider, and Vincent's attempted drive seemingly flew to first slip off a slashing edge, where Waugh took a brilliant two-handed catch to his left. Vincent was gone for 104, but replays suggested the ball had almost certainly spun past the outside edge, with the sound of Vincent's bat raking across the turf being misconstrued as an edge by umpire Darrell Hair.

64.1 overs New Zealand 201 for 2 (Vincent 101*, Fleming 89*)

Lou Vincent eased nervelessly through the 90s to reach an outstanding hundred in his first Test innings. He timed an attempted yorker from Jason Gillespie to long-off for four to move to 97, and chopped the same bowler past backward point for four to spark delirious celebrations. The sober applause of the Australian fielders spoke volumes for the quality of Vincent's innings. He is the sixth New Zealander to make a century on debut - the last was Mathew Sinclair, who made 214 against West Indies at Wellington in 1999-2000.

50 overs New Zealand 170 for 2 (Vincent 80*, Fleming 68*)

After a largely flawless debut innings, Lou Vincent used up three lives in Brett Lee's 11th over. He almost dragged on a wide one and then edged successive attempted drives to the vacant third-man boundary. Lee was bowling briskly on a fast, true WACA track but his 11 overs had cost 59, and for the first time in a long time at Perth, Australia were labouring badly.

43 overs New Zealand 146 for 2 (Vincent 66*, Fleming 59*)

The debutant Lou Vincent followed Stephen Fleming to a fine half-century as New Zealand slowly manoeuvred themselves into a strong position at the WACA. Vincent celebrated with a lovely clipped on-drive off an increasingly frustrated Shane Warne. Two balls later, in the next over, Vincent hooked Brett Lee over the man at fine leg for six. For a man who was normally a middle-order bat, he was making a pretty good fist of opening. With Lee going at over five an over and 24 having come from the last three, Australia needed Glenn McGrath's economy, and fast. He was back on the field, but injury regulations meant he would not be able to bowl before tea. Steve Waugh instead turned to his brother Mark, something that was not in the script when New Zealand were 19 for 2.

36 overs New Zealand 111 for 2 (Vincent 42*, Fleming 48*)

The mind games continued after lunch as both sides wrestled for the ascendancy. Stephen Fleming unceremoniously carted Shane Warne's first ball after the interval, a flipper, for four, and in the next over Fleming dumped successive short balls from Jason Gillespie to the boundary, through mid-off and midwicket. Things tightened up after that, and Warne had two huge bat-pad appeals, one off each batsman, turned down by Darrell Hair. The noose was tightening, but Lou Vincent loosened it with a classy square drive for four off Warne. 20 overs New Zealand 59 for 2 (Vincent 19*, Fleming 21*)

It was attritional stuff at Perth as Lou Vincent and Stephen Fleming continued to regroup for New Zealand. Fleming looked in good touch and cracked Brett Lee through the covers off the back foot for the third all-run four of the morning. At the other end Vincent, assured against pace, was a little tentative against Shane Warne, who was on as early as the 15th over after Glenn McGrath left the field suffering from back spasms.

13 overs New Zealand 48 for 2 (Vincent 18*, Fleming 12*)

New Zealand consolidated after losing two wickets in as many overs at the WACA, with the Australian fielding not quite at its sharpest on a blustery morning. Glenn McGrath hobbled off with a back injury and was replaced by Brett Lee, who was nicely driven to long-off for four by Lou Vincent. On his Test debut, Vincent was showing a sound technique and plenty of gumption on a typically bouncy Perth wicket. 8 overs New Zealand 25 for 2 (Vincent 7*, Fleming 0*)

The same old story of a touring team all at sea at Perth was beginning to take shape when Glenn McGrath pinned Mathew Sinclair lbw. McGrath had been pulled meatily for three off the previous delivery by the debutant Lou Vincent, but he pitched the next one further up and got his reward as Sinclair missed an expansive drive. The ball came back a fair way, but Sinclair looked pretty plumb and was on his way for 2. With 51 runs in four innings, he has had a series to forget.

6 overs New Zealand 14 for 1 (Vincent 0*, Sinclair 2*)

It didn't take long for Australia to make the first breakthrough at Perth. Mark Richardson missed an extremely ambitious drive at an off-cutter from Jason Gillespie that slammed into his middle stump. Richardson had fallen lbw to a very similar delivery from the same bowler at Brisbane. His opening partner Lou Vincent was still waiting to get off the mark on his debut, and New Zealand looked set for a difficult day on the trampoline-like WACA surface.

Toss New Zealand
Stephen Fleming won his third toss of the series at Perth, but this time he decided to bat. It's not a great surprise - in the last two Tests Fleming put Australia in and saw Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer add 224 at Brisbane and 223 at Hobart. But Fleming might have bowled first if he had done his homework: the last six Perth Tests have all been won by the team batting second.

New Zealand made two changes from the draw at Hobart. Debutant opener Lou Vincent replaced the hapless Matthew Bell, and Chris Martin came in for Daryl Tuffey, who was spanked all round the Bellerive Oval in the second Test. Australia were again unchanged, having kept the same XI for the entire series. The sun was shining, the WACA pitch looked rock-hard, and New Zealand's batsmen were set for the sort of examination they would not find anywhere else in the world.

Rob Smyth is a staff writer on Wisden.com.

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