Australia vs New Zealand First Test 5-9 November

Thought I'd give this Series some light, lest we look like heathens who don't care about the game at all.

Australia XI
Warner
Burns (yay)
Khawaja
Smith (c)
Voges
M. Marsh
Nevill (WK)
Johnson
Starc
Hazelwood
Lyon

New Zealand (Probable, and by probable, I mean I don't even know their squad)
Guptill
Latham
Williamson
Taylor
McCullum (c)
Neesham
Watling (WK)
Craig
Southee
Boult
Bracewell

Think I'd give NZ the edge, and a huge shot at winning a series, but I'm not sure how the Gabba will play day night, so I don't want to make a prediction

This is a traditional daytime Test match, raf. The day/night one is in Adelaide only.

Good start for Australia who are 100/0 at lunch on Day 1.
Some decent rainfall is expected over the next few days. Therefore, I suppose a big 1st innings total will be required and then have a crack at NZ and see what happens. Hopefully we can keep our 20 year winning record at the 'Gabba intact. Not sure if we will get a result although it's probably too early to make that call.

Better get off here now before they collapse.

No collapsing here , LD

Australians love the Gabba...and I reckon they're on for a monster score in this one .

Even Khawaja is scoring runs

Cheers LD, I did wonder why the start time seemed a little early

Haven't caught any of it, but seems Australia put the hurt into New Zealand. Seems surprising, but apparently preparing for a series by having your captain in a suit for court case halfway around ISNT the best way to prepare

Saw this last night, so not hindsight from Day 1 but I don't agree NZ have the edge, I made Aus huge favourites being at home.

I think NZ are a good side but quite over-rated and not likely to be consistent in Tests, their lineup seems to me to have similar issues to England (over-reliance on two bowlers, potentially weak batting outside of a couple of class players, a poor spinner)

Aus have made mincemeat of NZ attack......can't call it an attack.

Pitch appears flat....but that theory would be tested only when NZ face Aussie bowling

To be fair, I did say slight. Joe Burns has a very young Test career, Khawaja scored a fantastic ton but I'm still not sold on him. Mitchell Marsh is not a top six batsman. Of course Smith and Warner are a class above, but I'd give the overall NZ batting line up a comfortable victory as the better side. Aus have the better bowling side. Overall, I thought NZ being settled gave them the edge.

It's a relatively young and inexperienced side, raf. Still, I believe we have the makings of another great Test side as is usually the case.

As for Khawaja... I know some people are already taking the mick out of him but if you look closely and listen to him speak now you'll notice he has a) toughened up somewhat and b) grown up considerably in the last couple of years or so.

This is largely due (to my reckoning) that:

a) Marsh? or another selector got stuck into him a few years back saying that he had a lazy attitude and was squandering his true Test potential.
b) The loss of Phil Hughes. That tragedy really shook him up as it did all of us.

Thus, you have to give him credit for putting in the serious effort to make himself a better player and person... as he revealed today during a little segment during the lunch break.

Re NZ: yeah, I was also a little surprised.
Thought they would be more fired up but it was more than likely to be an uphill task going in with only 2 strike bowlers. Don't know why but they just didn't seem to be ready for this one. Australia must have smelt this and went straight for the jugular vein being the nasty people we are.

I did wonder after that farce of a warm up match when they conceded 500/1 whether the NZ bowling was quite ready ...but I had expected them to test Australia a bit more than this.

On Khawaja : what I saw of him today was quite impressive. LD's comments above may well be on the money. Just the same , I think
I will reserve judgement on him until I've seen him bat in more testing circumstances ; but today , well done

You're always reserving judgement, alf.
Come on - will he or won't he?

I think he is in the right groove at the moment and heading in the right direction. Needs to keep persevering and strengthen his technique against spin bowling. Confidence plays a large part in a developing young player and he needs solid support around him as all good batsmen do.

Well it is the first time he has actually played a significant innings in Test Cricket. One swallow , etc...

But as you say he is in a good groove : and with West Indies likely to provide run making opportunities later in the summer he might well settle his spot in the team by February. We will see.

Must say, I've never liked the colour arrangement for the Gabba's seating. I can never tell if the ground is completely empty, or standing room only!

It's was the style c.1993-4 (the low point when it came to taste) to make the place look fuller than it is. Not so keen on those colours either but you can probably blame the AFL for using their gate receipts for the upgrade. Same with all Australian stadiums.

My goodness Starc is such a lethal bowler. Nobody comes even close to that late swinging, dipping yorker at nearly 150km/h. Absolutely nobody.

LD, what is the latest with James Faulkner? Still bracketed as a limited overspecialist? How likely is it that he'll get another crack at test cricket?
Think Australia is wasting such a fine talent, well he's not express pace like Johnson and Starc though he also bowls left arm, but so what? The guy is quality as an all-round package, and better than the recent options Australia tried out for the all-rounder spot, Marsh, Watson, Maxwell, Henriques....... He is a good limited overs player should not be held against his test chances.......

Totally agree with you, msp. I'd love to see him back involved with the Test team.

I thought he was earmarked to join the squad for Bangladesh when Cummins was ruled out due to injury but since that tour was abandoned I haven't heard his name mentioned again.

He has been playing for Tasmania and doing quite well I hear. I have a feeling that the selectors may look at him again should anyone need a rest or suffer an injury before the West Indies tour here. He will definitely be back for the Stars in the BB which starts in mid December.

(Suprisingly?) interesting discussion on Channel 9 about the 'next generation' of Test batsman in Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Virat Kohli. And to take that on, where do you have them ranked in relation to each other?

Think, think I'd go 1) Root, 2) Smith, 3) Williamson, 4) Kohli at this moment. Probably slightly biased towards Root, he has a big test coming up in SA and then again when we are next in Aus but he fact he burst on to the scene, had a dip and came back again is pretty impressive and I still have a nagging doubt that someone will work out Smith's technique at some point and he'll have to get over that. Not saying he won't, but hasn't happened since he hit his purple patch.

I'd have to go 1) Smith, 2) Root 3) Kohli, 4) Williamson at the moment.
So impressed with Williamson. I expect his star to rise. Virat is going through a difficult patch but he is pure class at the crease. Smith is No.1 for good reason. That 48 in the first innings could be regarded as a failure such is the extent of his great run of form. I expect Root will be the mainstay in the SA tour and he will be well and truly tested on the harder pitches. Super player for sure but he deserves much better support around him besides Cook.

A bit of a shame to see Southee with his back problem which surfaced yesterday. The pressure is now telling on Boult who is struggling a little. Neesham also looked a bit ginger after one of his deliveries during his last spell. It's a cruel and unforgiving game is cricket.

Still a very high chance of a rain interruption which probably explains the urgency from both Warner and Burns.
Australia are 86/0 at tea with the lead now 325 runs.

So the day ends with Australia 264/4 with an overall lead of 503.
Joe Burns with his maiden test century and another one for our man David Warner.  
Have to feel a little sorry for the Kiwis. They got an absolute bludgeoning out there today.

It's going to be interesting in Adelaide when the umpires reach into their pockets when the shadows get long... and find no light meter!
Did anyone think of that? Whoever came up with that idea needs their head read.
Play a day/night ODI ffs... but don't mess with the Test!

Lets see the new experiment goes, test cricket needs to package itself better, for me it is the best format of the game and in India there still is considerable support for tests. Timings do not always work out well for people, so lets see if something can be done about it.......

Yeah, it's always gonna be tough to get good crowds in on weekdays. This could help with that. I'm not too opposed to it, for the simple reason that I'd quite like to catch some cricket on the way home from work (yes... I know I don't work at the moment, but you know what I mean). It just shouldn't change the fabric of the game. I'll give it a go.

Day-night Test matches are IMO a good idea, and maybe even a vital one for the future of the game. Take the Pak-Eng recent series. Engrossing cricket for most of it (and in general fairly high standard), tight games, "home" team winning, and yet the handful of spectators were in general the English traveling support (at least until early evenings when there seemed a few more locals). But for the day-night ODIs and T20s the grounds will (presumably) be packed.

Now that may be down to preference for the shorter form, but IMO it's not only that: attending Test matches during the day in those parts is just not easy. It's bl##dy hot for one thing, and of course people tend to work during the day. The only countries that see big crowds for Test matches regularly seem to be Australia and England.

Day-night ODIs have become completely a normal thing, despite plenty of opposition when they were first introduced, and I see no reason why Test can't become a similar fixture. Obviously certain apparent concerns need to be addressed - the ball, and whether its behaviour changes too much when conditions change - but let's see how it goes before trashing the idea on principle eh?

I think using the recent UAE series in defence of the idea of playing day-night cricket is a really poor one. That last series was not of a particularly high standard; well maybe one team played very well, the other not so good at all!

I also don't see the parallel with the introduction of ODIs either. It was popular from day one and opposition was almost non-existent.
People went to the matches in droves. I should know - I was there.

There has already been some criticism of the pink ball here but as you say MfC - let's see how it goes. One thing is for sure though. There will be people who will no doubt say things like "you can't compare so and so's batting average in daytime Tests with someone's day-night Test average".
I think it will unnecessarily complicate the game... not to mention make a mockery of the tradition that has seen some wonderful Test matches played.

Stuff the UAE I say. Same with football. They (the locals) have f all appreciation of the spirit of sport and those that attend are as you say a few expats and those poor souls from other countries who are basically slave labour. Since when should they have a major say in what goes on in sport, eh?

NZ taking another Day 1 pasting here, score is 399/1 with Warner 232 n.o. as I type - incredible stuff!

Khawaja just out for 121 runs as I type.
I was just thinking he looked a little tired after a hot day at the WACA. Warner telling him to hang in there for a few more overs.

Warner, on the other hand, looks as fit as a Mallee bull.

Australia 403/2 now

Apologies for the jinx there - though 407/2 is hardly a bad position!

At what point do we start to think about Lara's 400 or even Hayden's 380?

The Loaded Dog wrote:Khawaja just out for 121 runs as I type.
I was just thinking he looked a little tired after a hot day at the WACA. Warner telling him to hang in there for a few more overs.

Warner, on the other hand, looks as fit as a Mallee bull.

Australia 403/2 now

Assume that equates to a butcher's dog over here!

Anyway, cracking start by Warner and Australia to this Test. Just going by the scorecard, a really good team performance to wrap up the first one.

VTR wrote:Apologies for the jinx there - though 407/2 is hardly a bad position!

At what point do we start to think about Lara's 400 or even Hayden's 380?

Not to worry, VTR. I'll take the rap for that jinx. You are safe.
(bugger!)

Yes Guildo.
It's a common expression here. He does have certain bovine characteristics I'm sure you'll agree.

Oh yes, LD. Agreed.

So 244 no overnight. NZ may already be utterly demoralised, so I think this is as good chance at getting well past 300 as we have seen for a while

Where's Alfie?
Keen to know whether the "reserve judgement" condition has been lifted on Khawaja.
I think he has got the goods. Well in Australia at least. Just hope he can perform as well offshore if he gets the chance.

carnage continues...
hard to figure....what happened to the team of 2015 NZ at the fag end of 2015

NZ bowlers must be in despair. Counting the 513-1 they copped in that odd practice game on a jigsaw pitch subsequently abandoned, they've now been mullered twice on Day 1 of each Test. I make it their combined figures on tour so far are something like 12 wickets at not far short of 150 a pop - and at least 2 of those 12 fell when Oz were looking for quick runs in their second innings last Test. Awful.

What about Warner - what's he got in his sights? 300 for sure, then Hayden's 380, then 400 are genuinely on, but might he even be eyeing up Lara's 501* ?

The Loaded Dog wrote:Where's Alfie?
Keen to know whether the "reserve judgement" condition has been lifted on Khawaja.  
I think he has got the goods. Well in Australia at least. Just hope he can perform as well offshore if he gets the chance.

Haha...

Look , I didn't see any of it I'm afraid ...but obviously he's booked his place for the reasonable future. As you say " in Australia at least" . Certainly just scoring that many runs , twice now , shows he's a different player to the one that played Tests a year or two back. So on that score , yes , reservations lifted.

Of course even your own post implies a little uncertainty as to whether he will be able to take this form to England , say ; or India - or whether he's another FTB

On that point : what is wrong with the NZ bowling ? Everyone thought they were better than that - it was their batting seemed questionable. But from all accounts they've been rubbish since they landed...

I was looking forward to this series, but NZ getting totally steamrollered.  Don't know how many runs Australia think they need but, if they are not dismissed, Austalia could happily bat until at least an hour before the close tomorrow and maybe declare with 750 on the board.

On the other hand, if Warner were still batting they might continue even longer to let him have a shot at Lara's record.

Well, I called this series badly. Thought Boult and Co were better than this to be honest. Warner is in fire flame Form at the moment.

This does bring sharp recall of the Aus Tour of 2012 where Australia scored 486 runs in a single day Adelaide. I can still remember how I couldn't fathom how and why Supersport were replaying the Gabba test highlights. My mind literally couldn't compute that a team was about to hammer 500 in a day

Shows the advantage of home conditions I guess, NZ looked like the superior side that toured England this summer, but getting destroyed in Aus

A decent second day for New Zealand and commendable given what they had experienced on day one. However, they remain a long way behind and will do well to get a draw out of this Test.

What is really happening to Australian pitches!?
There are 2 decent bowling units, but the runs are just piling up....... Scoreboard pressure seems to be the only wickettaking option on first 3 or 4 days. Makes test cricket absolutely borring, and such tracks just kill the game.......

I agree pitches seem pretty subpar pace wise. Same thing happened to the Wanderers. maybe its a southern hemisphere weather phenomena. On another note though Williamson is 160 runs short of 1000 runs for the year. only five Tests played as well

Lots of criticism of the kookaburra balls - too soft apparently. That, plus the fact the WACA is not quite as hard and fast as it used to be.

Starc's 160.4 km/h delivery was quick through the air though!

Taylor has just surpassed Martin Crowe's 188 innings from 85-86, achieving the highest ever NZ test scorer in Oz.

I am not writing this one off as a draw yet, will be a one innings game and incredibly still 2 days to go!

Yeah, still 2 days to go!
Brilliant knock from Taylor today.
Even Stephens right now. Who will make the breakthrough or crack first? Both sides could win, lose or draw.
Toss a coin!

Rotten luck for Khawaja , just when he was in a great run of form.

Perhaps my fault for acknowledging he looked like a Test player at last...

My money is on the draw ; but there are some cracks in that pitch now so things might change quickly tomorrow. Could be a tricky decision for Smith re setting a second innings target later on ?

Terrific from Williamson and Taylor today , of course. It is interesting though , that apart from the four centurions/ double centurions , no one else has scored more than 41 on this pitch. So I suppose a second innings collapse - by either side - isn't impossible.
Certainly a much more interesting match than the one sided Brisbane Test ; even if it does eventually go nowhere.
Most unusual to see Johnson going round the park at the WACA. He has spoken of thoughts of retirement. : I wonder if we will see much more of him ? A very fit man ; but pure pace - which is his main selling point - doesn't get any easier to maintain into the mid thirties. He may come out and take six in the second innings , of course. But if he doesn't , this match may be the one which convinces him to call it quits sooner rather than later. Certainly Starc looks to have taken over his role as the main spearhead.

Looks like I was over hasty in writing NZ off on the basis of a very poor first day. Excellent recovery by them on days 2 & 3.

It seems my efforts to get people to post about the second Test on my subtly-titled Aus V NZ 2nd Test thread have failed. So I will say on this thread that NZ have done extremely well and should, at the very least, get a draw out of this match.
NZ play comparatively few Tests so for Taylor to get 5,000 Test runs is a considerable achievement, while Williamson could become NZ's best-ever batsman.

Sorry, Sir Fred! Your thread was too subtle for me and obviously most others. Guess we might as well continue using this one now to see out the current Test.

Very much as you and others say. Terrific comeback from New Zealand. Very hard to call things atm but I suspect Warner's second knock may well be significant.

Warner doesn't just get runs, he gets them quickly; that could go a long way to allowing Australia a sufficient total and - importantly here - time to force a victory.

However, if Warner were to fall early and with Khawaja (presumably) unable to bat at 3, New Zealand might sense a real opportunity to level the series.

Run-fest continuing as I write and with Aus already one up there is no need for any heroics from Smith in terms of a declaration. Warner possibly kicking himself for not getting back-to-back 100s in each innings.
Amazing that Australia have only ever conceded one triple century in their long Test history - Hutton's 364 at The Oval in 1938.

200 up.  Agree with Sir Fred that there is no point in Smith making a generous declaration tomorrow.