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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Jonathan Howcroft (later) and Adam Collins (earlier)

Australia win the Boxing Day Test by 247 runs – as it happened

Tom Blundell
Tom Blundell struck a superb century on day four of the Boxing Day Test as New Zealand succumbed to defeat. Photograph: Andrew Brownbill/AP

Here’s your match report:

Summary

Well, that was comprehensive. Australia dominant across all four days of this MCG Test despite Tom Blundell’s rearguard century today and a couple of awkward partnerships.

This has been an extremely disappointing tour from New Zealand who arrived with such hope but will trudge to Sydney with their tail between their legs. The opposite is the case for Australia who are now rampant with a thrilling attack and runs flowing from batsmen not just called Smith.

Thanks for joining us again today, and throughout the Test. We’ll see you again next year in Sydney.

Travis Head named player of the match for his first-innings 114.

Tim Paine: “Batters applied themselves on day one... James Pattinson started the rot today and we all shared the load.”

“We’re playing well but we need consistency, all the guys stepping up, not just one or two contributing, and that’s starting to happen.”

Kane WIlliamson: “We weren’t quite at our best” explains the Kiwi skipper about day one, when he inserted Australia after winning the toss. He then credits Australia’s attack for being the difference in the match. “Their pace, bounce and accuracy” in particular.

Australia win by 248 runs

Trent Boult does not come out so New Zealand are all out. Australia complete a thumping victory.

WICKET! Blundell c Lyon b Labuschagne 121 (New Zealand 240-9)

Oh no! Blundell will not carry his bat after all, holing out to Lyon off Labuschagne. The end of a quite brilliant innings.

71st over: New Zealand 240-8 (Blundell 121, Wagner 6) Another four! Another c&b drop! It’s all happening late on at the MCG! Blundell carves Labuschagne through the covers then offers a very gettable return chance but the bowler flinches in his follow through and shells the mistimed drive. Blundell dismisses the rare error and whacks another boundary through wide long-on. But then...

70th over: New Zealand 232-8 (Blundell 113, Wagner 6) Just to reinforce his alpha status today, Blundell is now batting in his black cloth cap while there are spinners bowling in tandem. Liberated from his helmet he smashes consecutive fours off Lyon through midwicket. Wagner gets in on the act, bludgeoning Lyon back down the ground for four meaty runs. Technically that might have been a missed caught and bowled opportunity but that was like trying to grab a fast-moving freight train.

69th over: New Zealand 219-8 (Blundell 104, Wagner 2) Blundell makes a few runs and Wagner survives another handy Labuschagne over.

68th over: New Zealand 216-8 (Blundell 101, Wagner 2) There’s no official word on Trent Boult yet, but we’re not expecting him to bat with broken hand, so this is effectively the last wicket partnership. Australia have 55 minutes to end it.

WICKET! Southee run out (Pattinson) 2 (New Zealand 214-8)

Yes, no, waiting, sorry. Chaos out in the middle for New Zealand, and it ends with Tim Southee trudging off. He dabbed what should have been an easy single into the off-side but there was hesitation in the call and by the time Pattinson threw the ball into Paine’s gloves both batsmen were at the non-striker’s end. The end is nigh.

67th over: New Zealand 214-7 (Blundell 101, Southee 2) Marnus Labuschagne is tossed the ball and he shows why with an opening delivery that draws Blundell forward before spinning past the centurion’s outside edge. A very promising maiden from the part-time leggie.

66th over: New Zealand 214-7 (Blundell 101, Southee 2) The official word from the ground is that the extra half-hour will be taken to achieve a result tonight (on top of the half hour allowed for the sides to get through their allotted overs). In other words we could be here until 6.30pm.

If we end up requiring tomorrow...

WICKET! Santner c Paine b Lyon 27 (New Zealand 212-7)

A fine Santner innings ends tamely when he goes back to a Lyon delivery that turns and just grazes his outside edge before nestling in Paine’s gloves.

65th over: New Zealand 210-6 (Blundell 100, Santner 26) Late on a hot day, with an old ball, Pat Cummins is still bending his back, but this has been a long old slog for Australia since lunch.

100 to Tom Blundell

Blundell gets to three figures the first ball of Cummins’ over, and the MCG erupts. A clip just wide of midwicket precedes a scamper and a well-judged single. Blundell removes his helmet, soaks up the adulation, and savours the innings of his life.

64th over: New Zealand 208-6 (Blundell 99, Santner 25) Four dots from Lyon to Blundell then some neat footwork engineers the batsman enough space to clip a single to long-on. New Zealand’s opener advances to 99!

63rd over: New Zealand 207-6 (Blundell 98, Santner 25) Blundell safely navigates another Cummins over and moves to 98 with his latest compulsive hook. Looks like we’re going to be coming back tomorrow after all. If we do, conditions are going to be brutal. 40C with gale force northerly winds. Yuk.

62nd over: New Zealand 206-6 (Blundell 97, Santner 25) Santner cuts Lyon for three to push New Zealand beyond 200 and bring Blundell on strike. The opener then survives a bat-pad that spent an age in the air but landed in an unguarded zone at leg-slip. Santner calls his colleague through for a single then dumps Lyon over long-on, much to the delight of the vocal Kiwi contingent in the stands.

61st over: New Zealand 198-6 (Blundell 96, Santner 18) Cummins replaces Pattinson and the change benefits the becalmed Blundell who plays an angled dab with soft hands to earn his first boundary in age through third-man. The Kiwi opener has been scoring slowly for a while now, but it’s not been a nervous 90s for Blundell, more a patient pre-ton passage.

60th over: New Zealand 194-6 (Blundell 92, Santner 18) Blundell’s been doing it in singles for about an hour now, and that continues in Lyon’s latest over. The Australian spinner hasn’t ragged that many this afternoon but he gets one to grip and spit past Santner’s edge that may introduce an element of doubt into the left-hander’s mind.

59th over: New Zealand 193-6 (Blundell 91, Santner 18) Santner is growing into his knock and he repels a Pattinson over without much difficulty. Australia’s seamers have found very little sideways movement today.

During that previous Lyon over Mitchell Starc did some fielding that ended with him grimacing and holding his knee. He’s still out on the ground but he’s in some discomfort. One to keep an eye on.

58th over: New Zealand 193-6 (Blundell 91, Santner 18) Santner looks all at sea against the quicks but a million dollars against the spin of Nathan Lyon. Another over, another boundary for the Kiwi no.8, two in fact, the first carved behind the point, the second driven against the spin through mid-on.

57th over: New Zealand 184-6 (Blundell 91, Santner 9) Pattinson is on the money, almost trapping Blundell LBW before whistling one past Santner’s outside edge. The latter then escapes despite clipping off his hip in the air in the region of square leg.

56th over: New Zealand 182-6 (Blundell 90, Santner 8) Santner strikes another boundary off Lyon, this time skipping down the pitch then timing a lofted straight drive back over the bowler’s head. No alarms for New Zealand that over.

55th over: New Zealand 178-6 (Blundell 90, Santner 4) An eventful maiden over from Pattinson. Blundell lives to fight another day.

Not out! Blundell’s review is successful with DRS indicating the ball was bouncing over the bails. It did look a bit trigger happy from Nigel Llong for such a short delivery.

Pattinson takes over from Starc and from the third ball of his over he has Blundell LBW... but the batsman reviews immediately.

54th over: New Zealand 178-6 (Blundell 90, Santner 4) Santner gets off the mark with a very nicely timed back-foot drive through the covers. off Lyon Blundell creeps into the 90s.

53rd over: New Zealand 173-6 (Blundell 89, Santner 0) Blundell continues to hook compulsively, but his latest swipe to a Starc bouncer flies safely down to fine-leg. The resulting single invites Santner onto strike, and the no.8 looks ill-equipped to deal with Starc’s thunderbolts for long.

52nd over: New Zealand 172-6 (Blundell 88, Santner 0) What does Blundell do now? Does he go all out for his ton and forget about the match situation? The Kiwis are effectively seven-down remember because Trent Boult has a broken hand.

WICKET! de Grandhomme c Warner b Lyon 9 (New Zealand 172-6)

Another one goes, and it’s little surprise it’s CdG. One could charitably describe his brief innings as enterprising, but the more critical would call it reckless. One attempt to force the issue too many ends with a flick to leg coming off a thick inside-edge and travelling to the safe hands of Warner on the 45 at short fine-leg. Lyon is doing the job just when his team needed him to.

51st over: New Zealand 170-5 (Blundell 88, de Grandhomme 7) An all action over that goes for eight and provides half-chances from nearly every delivery. First off Starc finds the shoulder of de Grandhomme’s bat, but inexplicably there’s no gully in place to accept the catch - despite that being exactly how CdG was dismissed in the first innings. With Blundell on strike the pattern of previous overs is repeated, the batsman taking on the short ball, and getting away with it, just, hooking fractionally short of fine leg. CdG then teases point with a square cut that’s only a few inches over the leaping fielder as it travels to the boundary.

50th over: New Zealand 162-5 (Blundell 87, de Grandhomme 1) CdG is busy at the crease, and it eventually earns him the run he craved to get off the mark, but Lyon’s guile unsettled him. Breakthrough over for Australia, can they capitalise before the end fo the day?

WICKET! Watling c Warner b Lyon 22 (New Zealand 161-5)

Lyon with a huge breakthrough! He almost gets Watling with a top-edged sweep but he strikes soon after, getting one to rip through his gate from outside off, taking an inside-edge on its way through to Warner at leg-slip. Two handy partnerships in a row for the Kiwis but they’re running out of bodies.

Updated

49th over: New Zealand 159-4 (Blundell 87, Watling 20) Ooooh! Just as Ricky Ponting on TV was demanding Australia go short to the compulsive hooker Blundell, Starc does go short, Blundell does hook, and he feathers a tiny edge that flies agonisingly over the leaping Tim Paine behind the stumps. That has to be the home side’s plan of attack for the foreseeable.

48th over: New Zealand 153-4 (Blundell 82, Watling 19) Blundell again uses his feet to Lyon, and again takes the aerial route, this time earning four through long-on. He then offers a half-chance to the spinner when he belts a full toss just to the right of the diving bowler. After jogging a single Watling takes up the charge, using his feet and clipping four through midwicket. The Kiwis in the crowd are making plenty of noise. Two partnerships in a row at the MCG that have caused Australia problems on a surface that is as flat and even-paced as it has been all Test.

Updated

47th over: New Zealand 144-4 (Blundell 77, Watling 15) Starc replaces Cummins but this pair now have the measure of the surface. Blundell is happy to take on the short ball, hooking safely for one, while Watling is untroubled in defence.

46th over: New Zealand 143-4 (Blundell 76, Watling 15) After re-establishing their partnership after tea New Zealand are easing their way back into the runs. Watling collects four off Lyon with some handy footwork engineering enough space to guide a late cut down to the third-man fence.

45th over: New Zealand 139-4 (Blundell 76, Watling 11) Watling moves into double figures, and brings up the 50 partnership in the process, with a well-timed cover drive for three after Cummins errs in length.

44th over: New Zealand 136-4 (Blundell 76, Watling 8) That’s a welcome livener, Blundell using his feet and chipping Lyon for a couple down to cow corner.

43rd over: New Zealand 134-4 (Blundell 74, Watling 8) Cummins finds a genuine edge from Watling pushing forward but the batsman played it with an angled bat and the ball died well in front of second slip. There’s an end-of-the-day feel to proceedings already, despite 130-minutes of play still to go. The batsmen are focussed on defence, the fielding side isn’t getting much life out of the pitch, and the crowd has reached that state of inebriation where the scene has that dull roar of a soundtrack.

42nd over: New Zealand 133-4 (Blundell 73, Watling 8) Lyon is tossing the ball up, aiming for the footmarks wide outside the right-hander’s off-stump. The majority are hitting that region, and turning and bouncing, but Watling is equal to them. He eschews defence against the final delivery of the over, and almost regrets it, when his whip to the on-side floats off a leading edge, but it lands safely.

41st over: New Zealand 131-4 (Blundell 73, Watling 6) Cummins shares duties after tea and he matches Lyon’s maiden with one of his own.

40th over: New Zealand 131-4 (Blundell 73, Watling 6) Oooh, Nathan Lyon begins proceedings after tea and he almost jags Watling straight away but Labuschagne can’t grasp a difficult diving chance at silly point after the batsman tickled an inside edge onto his thigh pad. Maiden.

The final session of the day is almost upon us. The embarrassment that is modern over-rates means we’ll be playing through until 6pm local time (30 minutes later than scheduled) and we’ll still fall well short of seeing the remaining 40 scheduled overs bowlers.

Tea: New Zealand 131-4 (chasing 488)

After their calamitous morning session New Zealand regrouped well during the afternoon and Tom Blundell is growing into an impressive innings. Australia may yet have to return tomorrow to complete their series victory.

Tom Blundell
Tom Blundell celebrates passing 50 on day four at the MCG. Photograph: Scott Barbour/AAP

39th over: New Zealand 131-4 (Blundell 73, Watling 6) The runs are starting to flow for New Zealand now. Blundell earns four of them the hard way - all run - with a square drive off Cummins, then he smashes four more with a classical front foot push just wide of the diving mid-off. This is turning into a coming-of-age knock for the makeshift opener.

Updated

38th over: New Zealand 123-4 (Blundell 65, Watling 6) Pattinson is back on; T20 one-over burst stuff from Paine in the last half-hour or so, but it doesn’t work. Blundell smacks consecutive fours through the on-side, first through midwicket, then behind square, profiting on the bowler pitching too full and then too short.

Updated

37th over: New Zealand 114-4 (Blundell 56, Watling 6) Cummins replaces Pattinson from the Members’ end and he’s immediately driven calmly through wide midwicket for three by the busy Blundell. The strike is then rotated from four of the next five deliveries.

Australia have adjusted their field, taking out third slip and placing them at short cover for Watling and second gully for Blundell. Is that an acknowledgment the pace has left this pitch once the ball ages a little?

Updated

36th over: New Zealand 107-4 (Blundell 51, Watling 4) Lyon returns after just the one over from Cummins and he almost buys a wicket when Blundell mistimes a clip to leg onto his thigh pad but the ball loops behind square and not to the man fielding under his nose.

35th over: New Zealand 106-4 (Blundell 50, Watling 4) Pattinson is bowling a top-of-off spell so far but Blundell is up to the task, clipping a couple to the on-side when the line leaks a fraction onto the batsman’s pads, and then he reaches 50 by driving a long half-volley towards point for three more. Watling completes the two-three-four stepping stone of runs by drilling a gorgeous on-drive all along the carpet and into the sightscreen.

34th over: New Zealand 97-4 (Blundell 45, Watling 0) The ball change heralds Cummins’ return to the attack in place of Lyon. After Blundell nicks a single Watling defends stoutly.

33rd over: New Zealand 96-4 (Blundell 44, Watling 0) Pattinson replaces Starc from the Members’ end and he’s immediately into a tidy line and length against Watling. Four deliveries into his over there’s a conflab about the state of the Kookaburra and Nigel la la la la Llong invites the fourth umpire onto the field to furnish his heist movie metal suitcase full of replacements. The second ball of the over dovetails with the first to deliver a maiden.

32nd over: New Zealand 96-4 (Blundell 44, Watling 0) Blundell looks like he might just have singed a brain cell or two in this fierce heat. He’s looking increasingly skittish at the crease, especially against Lyon, who moves his man across the crease like a marionette in a testing maiden.

Can someone better than me at the internet do a remix of this featuring Nigel Llong? Please and thank you.

A la la la la la Llong.

31st over: New Zealand 96-4 (Blundell 44, Watling 0) Blundell is living dangerously. After being beaten for pace with that LBW shout he then gloves a bumper down the leg-side that is only just out of reach of the diving Paine. He earns four for his troubles though, and three more with a nice checked drive down to long-on.

NOT OUT - Nigel Llong was right, the ball pitched outside the line of leg-stump.

REVIEW! Starc reckons he has Blundell LBW, Nigel Llong doesn’t.

30th over: New Zealand 89-4 (Blundell 37, Watling 0) That partnership was getting irritating for Australia but some brilliance from Lyon and Paine has put them back on course for victory this afternoon.

Updated

WICKET! Nicholls st Paine b Lyon 33 (New Zealand 89-4)

Nicholls greets Lyon’s latest over by skipping down the pitch and belting him back over his head for six! Lyon responds by dropping his pace and executing a perfect off-spinning delivery that drifts in then spins away, beating the outside edge of a forward prod. So far so normal. But Paine is alert behind the stumps and whips off the bails in a flash, catching Nicholls with his back foot on the line, not behind it. The Aussie skipper tears away like Cristiano Ronaldo in celebration long before the DRS confirms the dismissal.

Updated

29th over: New Zealand 82-3 (Blundell 37, Nicholls 26) Starc is bowling with excellent rhythm but his over largely targeting the ribcages of New Zealand’s batsmen fails to engineer a chance. Again, Nicholls hints that his aerial clip off his hip could lead to his downfall.

28th over: New Zealand 81-3 (Blundell 36, Nicholls 26) Lyon is on top of his duel with Blundell, working the batsmen over from both sides of the wicket and almost inducing a play-on. The opener holds his own though, even nudging his first run on the off-side this innings.

27th over: New Zealand 80-3 (Blundell 35, Nicholls 26) Nicholls clips Starc off his hip for two and in so doing gives square leg a sniff of a chance, but it’s well out of reach. Australia trying to outmuscle New Zealand’s no.5 midway through this fourth day. Nicholls survives though, and alongside Blundell he has posted the touring side’s longest partnership of the series (in terms of balls faced).

While Adam catches some z’s (cuddling his life-size Peter Siddle dakimakura) remember to retune your emails and tweets to the following addresses: @JPHowcroft and jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.

Thank you very much Adam. My condolences on Peter Siddle robbing you of endless material. If you get nostalgic for the venomous vegan he has a series of instructional videos on YouTube. My favourite is the bouncer edition where he terrorises some patsy on a net wicket that should be roped off with crime scene tape.

Look at the state of that strip. And Siddle’s wearing dark colours. That is an accident waiting to happen.

26th over: New Zealand 77-3 (Blundell 35, Nicholls 24) The Australian fielders are talking loudly around the bat. Simon Katich, also on SEN radio, reckons they are discussing their respective Australian Rules football careers. As my OBO colleague Sam Perry rightly says, cricket is just footy in the summer these days. Lyon concedes four singles this time around, the final of those very, very close to a run out. Indeed, had Cummins hit from mid-on, Nicholls was gone by a long way. And after that moment of chaos, drinks are on the field. New Zealand have made it through the third hour without loss, which isn’t for nothing with both of these players trying to make a something of a statement before this Test is over. I’ll take this moment to hand over to JP Howcroft. Thanks for your company. Bye for now!

25th over: New Zealand 73-3 (Blundell 33, Nicholls 22) Another instance in 2019 of the stumps being hit by the ball without the bails coming off! As it happens, Starc was over the line anyway, called a no-ball as he sent it down. It found Nicholls’ inside edge, clipping the leg stump and ending up running away for a boundary with five added to the tally. He then makes it two in a row with a compact glance, beating fine leg again. A third boundary later in the over! It looked to have come off Blundell’s backside rather than his bat but it goes in the book as runs against Starc’s name. All told, 15 from the over after three maidens in a row. The final ball of the over was clocked at 152.4kph - whoa. “You’re having a laugh,” Brendon McCullum says of that reading on SEN radio. “That makes Henry Nicholls, who defended it easily off the front dog, the best player of fast bowling of all time.”

24th over: New Zealand 58-3 (Blundell 28, Nicholls 13) A silly point is brought in for Lyon to dissuade Blundell from lunging at the off-spinner. It works, the opener reverting back to playing him from the crease before using his feet the take the catchers out of range. Nice cat and mouse stuff. Three maidens on the trot.

23rd over: New Zealand 58-3 (Blundell 28, Nicholls 13) A new spell for Starc, a maiden to begin as it was with Lyon. He was well above 140kph throughout to Nicholls, who had to deal with the usual complement of short stuff in addition to a couple of probing deliveries aimed right at his stumps. He’s defending positively.

22nd over: New Zealand 58-3 (Blundell 28, Nicholls 13) Lyon immediately finds his range to Blundell, played with respect from start to end. A tidy maiden to begin.

21st over: New Zealand 58-3 (Blundell 28, Nicholls 13) Nicholls picks the right Cummins delivery to turn around the corner, beating long leg for four. Nice shot. Of course, the bouncer follows. He deals with it well. The next bumper is quicker again, ducked as soon as he saw it banged in.

The New Zealand fans are giving the Barmy Army chant a razz, which I’m all about. They have been fantastic throughout the week. The good news is that Cricket Australia are open to having them back again for Boxing Day soon.

20th over: New Zealand 54-3 (Blundell 28, Nicholls 9) Another strong lbw shout, Pattinson jagging back at Blundell and hitting him on the knee roll. Lyon at point says it is going over the top, which means he isn’t getting a review; the subsequent TV projection confirms this to be the correct call. We’re still waiting to find out from the New Zealand camp if Trent Boult will bat, by the way. I can’t imagine why he would unless there’s a realistic chance of them getting something out of it.

19th over: New Zealand 52-3 (Blundell 28, Nicholls 8) More good batting from Blundell, getting into position early to pull Cummins. There’s no real doubt how this game is going to end but there is plenty to be gained for the new opener.

Simon Katich is making some strong comments on SEN radio about the lack of tour games teams play before starting a tour in Australia, observing that it hurts the quality of the end product: the Test Matches. There was some fairly silly stuff floating around last week saying that the Black Caps should have been fine in Perth because they played England in Hamilton. That’s not quite how it works.

18th over: New Zealand 50-3 (Blundell 27, Nicholls 7) Shot! Blundell has pulled really well, this time getting on the top of the bounce off Pattinson, hammering it in front of square leg. Head, sweeping on that rope, had no chance of cutting it off. The visiting fans are happy as it brings up the New Zealand 50. Pattinson is much fuller to finish, beating the edge on the angle away from the left-hander.

17th over: New Zealand 46-3 (Blundell 23, Nicholls 7) Cummins to Nicholls now, locating his inside edge within two balls. He gets better through the over, ducking and leaving nice and early. A reminder: New Zealand’s target is (notionally) 488.

There are 17,725 people in the MCG, bringing the overall attendance to 201,477.

16th over: New Zealand 44-3 (Blundell 23, Nicholls 5) At last a productive over for New Zealand against Pattinson. For the new man Nicholls that is important as he searches for a way into his groove, pulling a couple of times through midwicket.

“I was an early-adopter of all things Siddle and I love the way he’s bowing out,” writes Robert Wilson, who I instinctively believe on this point. “I’d have been sad if it was a total retirement. It’s typical and somehow delightful that he’s going to crack on and try to get another 1st class milestone under his belt. He always reminded me of Boxer, the dray horse in Animal Farm - solid, patient, often poorly-used and impeccably herbivore. It’s in no way a diss. I once rode a dray. Size of a Sherman tank but the thing could truly move when it was in the mood, a horse that could take a hat-trick. I felt like a cork on a waterfall. Vale Siddle.”

Love. Now, this might be a bit much but, hearing him say that he will bowl till his body says no more, what if he goes around for four more years both in the UK and Oz? That would, dare I suggest it, bring 1000 wickets into consideration. Go on!

15th over: New Zealand 39-3 (Blundell 23, Nicholls 1) Gee whiz, Blundell leaves Cummins close to his body, the ball just clearing his off-stump bail. He goes for the inswinger at the timber next up, doing enough to beat the inside edge before hooping big down the legside. You don’t see him bowl with conventional shape through the air too often - he looks pretty happy with how it came out. Maiden.

14th over: New Zealand 39-3 (Blundell 23, Nicholls 1) Blundell gets one away off his middle stump into the legside to open his account for the session. Nicholls’ turn, looking pretty organised in defence, leaving well too outside the off stump. It prompts a shift to around the wicket with one ball to go, dealt with solidly.

The players are back! That means Pattinson is back. He now has 81 Test wickets at 25 apiece, really making the most of this excellent comeback. “Imagine he takes seven or eight?” says Damien Fleming on SEN Radio of his fellow Victorian. Dare to dream. Nicholls will be taking the first ball of this middle session. PLAY!

Australia doing just as was expected. The 31 runs they added to start the day across 38 lacklustre minutes matter not at all now, Pattinson striking thrice in a hurry to set the final innings of this Test up for a very likely four-day finish.

LUNCH: New Zealand 38-3

13th over: New Zealand 38-3 (Blundell 22, Nicholls 1) Nicholls is walking out on a King Pair but avoids that with a single, driven past Starc. Blundell, who picked up one around the corner earlier in the over, deals with the last couple of balls of the session, clipping a single to fine leg to finish. That’s LUNCH at the MCG, the Australians seven wickets from victory after a most productive 13 overs.

Meanwhile, what a nightmare of a tour this has been for New Zealand with the bat, and specifically the captain Williamson who has made 57 runs in four hits. He was pretty unlucky there. You don’t see many like that given out by the on-field ump.



WICKET! Taylor b Pattinson 2 (New Zealand 35-3)

Taylor chops on fourth ball! Nothing special about the delivery but there’s something special going on in this Pattinson spell - he has two wickets in the over and three scalps in nine balls.

12th over: New Zealand 35-3 (Blundell 20)

WICKET! Williamson lbw b Pattinson 0 (New Zealand 33-2)

Umpire’s call! Pitching on off-stump, the DRS projection showed the ball JUST touching the leg stump. Because he was given out on the field, it is good enough to send the New Zealand captain packing for a duck. Disaster for the tourists. And clever captaincy from Paine, swinging Pattinson around to follow Cummins.

HAS PATTINSON TRAPPED WILLIAMSON LBW? He’s given out on the field, the New Zealand captain taking his time before sending it upstairs. Stand by!

11th over: New Zealand 33-1 (Blundell 20, Williamson 0) Starc is straight back after Pattinson’s one, successful over. They must want him to have a crack at Williamson before the main man is set? Or changing ends? If the former, it doesn’t here, Blundell taking charge of the whole over. After prodding unsuccessfully at the first ball, he builds in confidence by the end - defending solidly; calling loudly.



10th over: New Zealand 33-1 (Blundell 20, Williamson 0) That’s rapid from Cummins to Williamson, flinging an accurate bouncer at his lid, the New Zealand captain swaying inside the line of it. No inch given throughout the over.

9th over: New Zealand 32-1 (Blundell 19, Williamson 0) The Kiwi crowd are giving the skipper Williamson a huge ovation as he walks out with two balls to go in the successful Pattinson over. Before Latham fell, they had another reason to cheer when Blundell clipped him through midwicket for three. The big quick is right on the button to New Zealand megastar, defending both into the off side.

WICKET! Latham c Paine b Pattinson 8 (New Zealand 32-1)

It is Pattinson to replace Starc and he’s into the book with his fourth ball! It was a delivery Latham didn’t need to play at - wide and full. It’s edged through to Paine, who completes a tidy catch diving with two hands low to his left.

8th over: New Zealand 29-0 (Latham 8, Blundell 16) Cummins slips a quick delivery past Blundell’s inside edge to begin, whacking him on the back pad. He’s got a good temperament though, taking the next ball from the same angle into the legside for a single. Latham’s turn now and he plays the shot of the morning, a glorious on-drive that races to the rope. The New Zealand fans love it. “This wicket is FLAT,” declares the hopeful McCullum. The southpaw takes two more past square leg from the next before leaving the final offering. Seven from it. Nice.

7th over: New Zealand 22-0 (Latham 2, Blundell 15) Starc misses his line at Latham, a deflection off his backside running down to the fine leg rope. He’s engaging the opener with a false stroke from the last delivery though, playing at an outswinger well outside the off-stump, his outside edge well beaten. Even so, I reckon it might be time for James Pattinson next up from the MCC End.

Brendon McCullum has taken it a fraction further now on SEN radio, saying they’ll win with Blundell making 120 and Williamson an unbeaten 240. That’d be fun!

6th over: New Zealand 18-0 (Latham 2, Blundell 15) Cummins is slamming it in at Blundell, forcing him to use his bat early in the over before beating both edges by the time his maiden is complete. He’s in the form of his life.

5th over: New Zealand 18-0 (Latham 2, Blundell 15) More good batting from Blundell, waiting for a straighter Starc ball to take a single. Latham is less at ease, copping a nasty blow on the arm when trying to get out of the way from a bumper. Looked to hit him on the elbow - they cross for a leg bye. Blundell goes again through square leg, timing it out to the rope, denied a third boundary from some sharp tandem fielding on the rope by the Australians. He’s 15 from 19. “This wicket is getting better and better,” says Brendon McCullum on SEN. He thinks they will be two down overnight and will draw it tomorrow. “You have to think like that.”

4th over: New Zealand 13-0 (Latham 2, Blundell 11) Cummins v Latham was an excellent contest yesterday and looks it again already here, this maiden from around the wicket forcing the opener to use his bat in response to every delivery.

3rd over: New Zealand 13-0 (Latham 2, Blundell 11) Latham misses a clip down the legside early in the over but the Australians are up for caught behind - that’s definitely not out - but he does get off strike with one behind square from the next ball. Blundell deals with the rest quite comfortably. He looks up for this.

2nd over: New Zealand 12-0 (Latham 1, Blundell 11) Cummins is right on it to Blundell and up go the Australians for a second big shout! It’s angled in nicely to beat the inside edge but it is too high to seriously consider a review. The opener keeps his cool after the appeal, responding with a punishing pull shot through midwicket for his second boundary. Have that, Pat! A fun start to this innings.

“Now that he’s announced his retirement, I feel kinda bad that I’ve been moaning to anyone who’d listen since before the last Ashes that the selectors needed to put Sidds out to pasture,” acknowledges John Phaceas. “Great servant, team man, and metronomic bowler over many years. Well done Peter Siddle, you have served Australia valiantly. But let’s be honest, you can’t truly be a red-blooded, helmet-cracking, Aussie nasty fastie if you’re a 30-bananas a day vegan.”

As Justin Langer said after the win at Edgbaston, there was no bowler more important to that critical Ashes victory than Siddle. And I don’t eat meat either, so I’ll politely shoulder arms to the second part!

1st over: New Zealand 8-0 (Latham 1, Blundell 7) Nice start from Latham, taking one to cover first ball but hey’re all up for lbw two deliveries later, Blundell struck on the knee roll with a ball that shapes back beautifully over the wicket. NOT OUT on the field says Nigel Llong; no referral. But... it was hitting leg stump! It would have been overturned. The opener makes the most of his let off, clipping a full ball for four past square leg. “It’s not going over,” Starc tells his colleagues in the cordon after learning about the projection on the big screen. Blundell finishes the over with three more in the same direction, out to deep square leg. There are still a lot of Kiwi fans in the MCG and they give the new opener a big ovation.

The players are back on the field. Blundell and Latham have the job ahead of them for the Black Caps. Starc will start Australia off from the Members End. PLAY!

Siddle is going to continue with Essex and Victoria. We’ll learn more at the lunch break when he holds a press conference, but he said in an interview with the Herald-Sun that he’s striving for 700 First Class wickets. He currently has 603.

In 38 minutes this morning Australia added 31 runs. That’s all I’ve got. In case you were wondering, New Zealand must survive 168 overs (I think) to save the Test.

AUSTRALIA DECLARE AT 168/5!

New Zealand’s target is 488.

WICKET! Head b Wagner 28 (Australia 168-5)

He’s bowled Head around his legs! Three for Wagner. All have been well earned.

54th over: Australia 168-4 (Wade 30, Head 28) You guessed it: three more singles. But, BUT... Tim Paine is taking his pads off upstairs. Or at least it appears that way.

An interview Andy Bull did with Pete Siddle in 2015 is worth another look today.



53rd over: Australia 165-4 (Wade 29, Head 26) Not a lot going on here, is there? Three singles off Wagner. Paine is padded up in the sheds, the vision shows, suggesting that this innings might have a bit of time to run yet. I haven’t got the TV commentary on but I can only imagine Shane Warne’s delight.



52nd over: Australia 162-4 (Wade 28, Head 24) Southee is pulled by Wade for one then deflected by Head for another. The veteran is not going to give them the chance to really unleash here, his line and length disciplined to the last. As they note on SEN radio, Wade is chatting to the New Zealand players between overs. I can only imagine the sort of advice he is offering them.

51st over: Australia 160-4 (Wade 27, Head 23) Wagner keeps giving it his all, wanging it in halfway down time and again. There’s a flurry of activity when Head inside edges, called through for a quick single. The declaration feels pretty close.

50th over: Australia 157-4 (Wade 25, Head 22) Singles to both along the carpet early in the over, Head then going once again towards third man later in the set, landing just in front Matt Henry - on as Boult’s subsitute fielder. Wade keeps the strike with a single pulled out to deep backward square to finish.

Some words from Justin Langer and the Australian camp on Peter Siddle.

Cricket Australia has congratulated Peter Siddle on an outstanding Australian career after the veteran fast bowler announced on Sunday he was retiring from international cricket, effective immediately.

Siddle, 35, took 221 wickets from 67 Test matches including eight five-wicket hauls. He is the 13th highest Test wicket-taker among all Australian bowlers and will be forever remembered for the hat-trick he claimed on his birthday against England at the ‘Gabba in 2010.

Justin Langer, the Australian Men’s Team Head Coach, described Siddle as a true team man.

“The year after I retired from playing, Matty Hayden and Ricky Ponting were raving about this guy called Peter Siddle,” Langer said. “If it came from them, you knew it was right and so it proved throughout his brilliant international career.

“He is an unbelievable bloke and an extremely good cricketer. He is the everything of what a team player is. He has given his heart and soul to the Australian team and the game of cricket.

“We’ll always be thankful to him for what he’s given to the national team, and for the critical role he played in helping us retain the Ashes in England this year. He’s going out when he’s still playing well which, in a perfect world, is something every athlete wants to do.”

Tim Paine, the Australian Men’s Team Captain, thanked Siddle for his exemplary service to Australian and international cricket.

“Sids has been the heart and soul of the team for a long time,” Paine said. “I remember coming up through with him through the academies and even back then he was one of the great team men, something he has continued to this day.

“He has a massive heart and is a fantastic bowler. He’ll be very much missed around the group. He’s been unbelievably good for our younger fast bowlers over the last 18 months and been a great support for me during that time, as well.

“It’s sad to see him leave international cricket, but the time is right for him. He’s had a wonderful career, he’s achieved a lot and I know he’s still got plenty to offer in domestic cricket.”

Kevin Roberts, Cricket Australia’s Chief Executive, praised Siddle for playing a crucial role in defining the team culture in recent seasons.

“On behalf of everyone in the Australian cricket family, I would like to thank Peter for his extraordinary service to the national team,” Roberts said. “Peter’s contribution extends well beyond what you see on the field. He is a wonderful team player who has been a pivotal figure in the resurgence of the national team.

“His 221 Test wickets are a huge accomplishment and matched by the impact he has made on the culture of the team. He is a terrific competitor, a humble person and exemplifies the values of Australian cricket.”

In addition to his 67 Tests, Siddle also represented Australia in 20 One-Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals.

He will continue to play cricket at domestic level, including for the Adelaide Strikers in this year’s KFC BBL and for Victoria in the Marsh Sheffield Shield.

49th over: Australia 153-4 (Wade 23, Head 20) More of the same, Wagner banging it in at Wade who does what he needs to do keep the board moving. Head is happy to get out of the way of a bumper trained on his helmet before slicing another ball over the cordon, albeit without a lot of power. There’s no fielder there, though.

48th over: Australia 151-4 (Wade 22, Head 19) Southee to Wade now, who takes a couple into the off side early in the over. He’s beaten later with one that bounces a bit more, prompting a sledge from the bowler: “you’re playing for a tennis ball on a concrete pitch.” Something like that. The hosts get the last laugh from the final ball, Head successfully reaching a very wide T20-esque delivery, getting enough on it to go over about fourth slip for four runs. That lead is now 470 runs.

47th over: Australia 144-4 (Wade 19, Head 15) Wagner to Wade, a contest that has had meaning every time they have been pitted against each other in this series. He takes on the first accurate bouncer that comes his way, pulling a couple.

46th over: Australia 141-4 (Wade 16, Head 15) Head gets the first run of the morning, unfurling a cover drive into a gap, Wade then getting his day underway with a quick single into the offside. There’s no mucking around here, Head slashing hard at the last delivery, over point for a couple. The lead is 460.

Right, to the middle. The players are on the field. How long will they bat? Pat Cummins hinted on SEN radio that it might be about an hour. Trent Boult won’t be involved today for what time that is left as it was confirmed overnight he broke his right hand when batting yesterday. A massive blow for the tourists. Tim Southee, his long-term partner in crime, has the ball in his hand from the MCC End. Travis Head is on strike, resuming on 12 after his first-innings ton yesterday. PLAY!

Peter Siddle Day is coming in 2020, by the way. Ten years on from his birthday hat-trick, on The Final Word pod we’re lobbying the government to formalise it.

And his first Test wicket. A bloke called Tendulkar - you might have heard of him.

“Can we celebrate Peter Siddle please?” asks Ruth Purdue. We can and we must. “For me the consistency of that man was great.” Too right.

I’ll go first. In the summer of 1999-2000, playing rep cricket against Sidds, we had three runs to get in the final over with three wickets in hand and he was the man with the ball. Sure enough, he took three wickets in five balls to win it by a run.

Remember his first ball in Test cricket, whacking Gautum Gambhir on the lid?

BREAKING: Peter Siddle retires from international cricket

We have just received word from the Australian camp that Peter Siddle has called time on his 12-year international career. What a gem of a bowler he has been.

Welcome to day four at the MCG!

The inescapable truth is that most Test Matches reach a stage like this, where one side has dominated to such an extent that the final result appears certain even though many columns in the scorebook are yet to be filled. Third innings declaration runs, typically acquired on the fourth day, are part of this rhythm. There’s no spinning the fact that this is where we are, with Australia preparing to resume this morning already some 456 runs ahead in their second innings.

But let’s look at this another way. Isn’t a big part of the reason why we as lovers of our game tell anyone who’ll listen Test Match cricket is the greatest sport of all due to the elation we get when all four results are possible late on day five? Of course it is. But if that was the case in every Test, would those special moments be so memorable? Don’t we need the drab days make the Headingley Miracle - or any number like it over the last 142 years - so much more meaningful when the come?

I spent today sitting in a studio talking about the fixture taking place over in Pretoria between South Africa and England. The visitors limped and stuttered their way through more than half a day with the ball. That half their team have been struck down with gastro - including two more this morning - gave the impression that they were going to be sliced and diced in three days. Three hours later, they are a sniff at a comeback that would be in the same bracket as Leeds.

Sure, that isn’t going to happen here. Australia will declare at some stage today setting the Black Caps an impossible target - maybe 500, maybe 550. But the very fact that we are going to take it all in together anyway, finding meaning where we can and enjoying excellence as it is presented - especially when the local quicks are let loose, so superb the first time around - is the investment we make to earn the elation of a huge payoff when a Test does go down to the wire, as tomorrow’s in South Africa might. This is all part of it. We get stuck in and watch it anyway.

Good morning to you all. Let’s talk.

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