Glenn McGrath got the defending champions off to a near-perfect start when New Zealand began their reply after the luncheon interval. Despite conceding six off his first over, the Australian fast bowling great came back with two wickets, those of opener Daniel Vettori and Nathan Astle, in his second over. He ran into some problems in his third, bowling an uncharacteristic three wides, but in his fourth, he trapped Scott Styris leg before wicket for three to leave New Zealand reeling at 33 for three.