It was supposed to be Brendon McCullum’s day, but it was opposing captain Steve Smith who made the right moves as Australia ended day one of the first Test against New Zealand comfortably in control in Wellington yesterday.
Smith called correctly at the toss, made New Zealand bat on a green wicket and within two sessions the innings was over for 183. Australia at stumps were 147-3, 36 behind New Zealand, with Smith making 71.
Usman Khawaja was not out 57 with Adam Voges on 7.
Photo: AFP
Voges was bowled by Doug Bracewell in the final over of the day only for umpire Richard Illingworth to call it a no-ball. Replays indicated it was a legitimate delivery.
When New Zealand batted, Josh Hazlewood and Peter Siddle did the damage for Smith as they ripped through the top order in conditions ripe for seam and swing.
Their cause was helped by some injudicious shot selection, including by McCullum, who saw his 100th Test celebrations fall flat when he was out for a duck. He did not get forward far enough to a Hazlewood special that came back, took an inside edge and deflected off the pads to David Warner at third slip.
After McCullum had received a rousing ovation when he walked to the middle, there was silence when he walked off after facing seven deliveries. That the New Zealand innings lasted 48 overs was thanks to lusty tail-end hitting with the last three wickets contributing 86 after Hazlewood and Siddle had reduced the side to 97-7.
All seven dismissals came from edges to the cordon behind the wicket with wicketkeeper Peter Nevill snaring four catches including a superb one-handed diving effort to remove Kane Williamson down the leg-side. New Zealand were reeling at 51-5 in the 12th over before a determined knock by Corey Anderson, who with B.J. Watling went about stopping the tumble of wickets.
Anderson then featured in a 10-over stand with Mark Craig that produced 40 runs and Craig, who had a Mitchell Marsh delivery hit his stumps but not dislodge the bails, put on 46 with Trent Boult for the 10th wicket. Craig was unbeaten on 41 at the end with Boult out for 24.
New Zealand had a glimmer of hope that their cause was not lost at the start of the Australian innings when Tim Southee snapped up two early wickets.
Joe Burns went in the first over without scoring and David Warner followed soon after for 5, but Smith and Usman Khawaja then took control and proved the pitch was playable as they put on 126 for the third wicket. Smith offered a chance on 18, but was dropped by Craig at second slip. However, Craig made no mistake with the second offering from the Australian captain taking a return catch off his own bowling.
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS