Crisis averted effectively by Smith and Voges. They came together at 46 for two, before both ended the day on three figures.
What that means is a lead of 193 and so much declaration speculation that you can lose yourself in the nonsense of it all. You’d expect Australia to want a crack at New Zealand but the WACA pitch looks good enough for another grand’s worth of runs.
However, the day belongs to Ross Taylor, who finished his innings on 290 – the highest score by any visiting batsman in Australia (a record that had stood for 112 years).
That’s it from us today. Join Russell tomorrow for handshakes or bust...
Updated
Home Town Hero
Job done. Adam Voges struggling to wipe the smile from his face after making a Test century at home. @abcgrandstand pic.twitter.com/vWFCMBZHg4
— Adam White (@White_Adam) November 16, 2015
63rd over: Australia 258-2 (Smith 131, Voges 101)
Smith is quick onto a pull which gets him two to fine leg. There’s an issue as to whether the ball is four as Boult fields well but moves the boundary rope – the ball then goes on to nestle where the rope once was. It’s kept as two, so Smith opens the face for three boundaries to third man in a row! A third slip is put in so Smith just dead bats this back to the bowler.
Peter Salmon gives us a final though for the day: “I do love this trope that goes round whenever someone is getting a big score – ‘will Lara be worried?’.
“He doesn’t seem much of a worrier, but I now have an image of him, sat up in bed (in full batting gear), surrounded by television monitors bringing him all the latest scores, looking at them through gloved fingers and punching the air with his fist whenever anyone falls short.”
And with that, stumps is called for day four. Australia lead by 193 runs. Lara has another awkward night’s kip..
Updated
62nd over: Australia 244-2 (Smith 117, Voges 101)
Kane Williamson’s off spin is replacing Craig’s and immediately Voges is dabbing in front of square on the legside and trying to scramble two. He only manages one. Smith gives Voges back the strike and Voges finds a single at point to take him to 97*. Smith finds another single and Voges sweeps hard... for four! There it is - a second Test hundred and this one, his first in Australia, at his home ground!
61st over: Australia 236-2 (Voges Smith 115, Voges 95)
Voges finally manages to thread one through the covers off Henry. Even then, he can’t quite get it all the way as mid off does good work to his left to clear up after extra cover is beaten. Smith is then met with a short ball that he looks to have got on top of but somehow plays it onto his back (right) elbow. His gloves are off and he physio is out to tend to the area, which is swelling up nicely.
Has Smith got a broken f--ken' arm? #copyrightpup #AusvNZ
— Jesse Hogan (@Jesse_Hogan) November 16, 2015
60th over: Australia 235-2 (Smith 115, Voges 96)
Craig gets one into the blockhole but Smith can still drive down the ground for one. A full toss to Voges allows him to do the same. A bit of width and Smith drives deliberately through third man. Talyor does well to dive and pull the ball back into play an inch from the sponge. He has to complete the job himself, collecting his loose ball and hurling into the keeper. By that point they’ve run four anyway. A two to the same region gives him a bit of a warm down.
59th over: Australia 227-2 (Smith 108, Voges 93)
Voges and Henry go at it again. The Aussie digs out a yorker, the Blackcap fields off his own bowling. The are no words, no states, just one turning back to his mark, the other to square leg. Both collect their thoughts and do it a few more times. Over. Maiden.
58th over: Australia 227-2 (Voges 93, Smith 108)
Mark Craig comes back into the attack for Trent Boult and Smith immediately turns him to the legside for a single. Voges gets two fine leg and then gets four from a skewed edge. It should have just been another two, but Ross Taylor, chasing from first slip, dives and gets stuck in the turf – as his knee jars, he accidentally knocks the ball beyond the boundary rope. Luckily he’s not injured and collects the ball from beyond the cap while doffing his cap to the Aussie fans “congratulating” him.
57th over: Australia 219-2 (Smith 107, Voges 86)
Henry is full and straight to Voges, who is full and straight in return. Good areas from the Kiwi, who’s looking for Voges to try and force the issue but they’re both fairly happy with the stalemate. Maiden.
56th over: Australia 219-2 (Smith 107, Voges 86)
Bit of a delay at the beginning of the over as Boult strikes Smith on the side of the helmet. Thankfully, it looks like Smith is OK as he takes it off and gives his temple a bit of a rub. Australia team doctor Peter Brukner comes out to the middle, along with a new helmet. Smith is fine to continue and shows it with a glorious drive through the covers. Boult perhaps trying for the bluff there, hoping Smith was expecting another short one? The final ball is short, but wide of off stump and not as brisk, meaning Smith can get onto it quickly, finding the man at square leg but all along the floor.
55th over: Australia 215-2 (Smith 103, Voges 86)
The day is petering out but for Voges there’s the prospect of a second Test hundred before stumps. Henry gets some late movement into Voges but he’s able to help this on down the legside for four. Then there’s an appeal from behind the stumps as the ball hits Voges pad but only after a thick inside edge.
54th over: Australia 211-2 (Smith 103, Voges 82)
Boult around the wicket to both right-handers now – originally it was just to Voges, who uses the third ball to get off strike with a single to midwicket. Smith plays the rest of the over from right behind his bat.
53rd over: Australia 210-2 (Smith 103, Voges 81)
Voges is happy to have some downtime and it’s only when Henry bowls him a short ball that he decides to pick off a single, pulling the ball to the man out at square leg. Henry’s bouncer to Smith is too high (wide given) so he targets the stumps with the last two deliveries. Both played well by Smith, particularly the last ball which is a yorker.
I don't have the urge to coo watching Smith bat, like I do for Williamson, but I marvel at how he's relentlessly effective. #AusvNZ
— Jesse Hogan (@Jesse_Hogan) November 16, 2015
52nd over: Australia 208-2 (Smith 103, Voges 80)
Steve Smith gets to three figures! It comes through a back-cut for four, taking him to 103 from 140 balls. It’s his 12th in Tests, his fifth of 2015, his fourth as captain and, as mentioned in the last over, his first in the second innings.
51st over: Australia 204-2 (Smith 99, Voges 80)
Absurd delivery from Matt Henry, who starts his first over of the evening session. A full ball angling in at the stumps hits a crack and shoots off in the other direction to such an extent that Smith, who has been playing most out of the middle of his bat, is a good two feet away from it. And a chance goes down, too! Henry is full and down the legside and Smith tries to help it along the way: a thin edge means Watling’s got a chance but the ball is shelled despite a great effort to his left. A two through midwicket and then a single in the same region takes Smith to within one run of his first second innings hundred...
50th over: Australia 201-2 (Smith 96, Voges 80)
Trent Boult is brought into the attack for the first time since he opened the innings with six overs. After a lengthy delay to set the field, Smith plays a front-foot pull shot in front of square on the legside for two. Four balls into the over and Boult decides to take on Adam Voges from around the wicket. After pulling straight to midwicket – on the bounce – Voges defends the final ball into the offside.
Voges & Smith now have the 3rd wkt record at Perth between Aus & NZ for a pair with 5-letter surnames. Beats Edgar/Crowe in 85-86. #longday
— Ric Finlay (@RicFinlay) November 16, 2015
49th over: Australia 198-2 (Smith 93, Voges 80)
Sharp thump through midwicket only brings Smith a single but Voges gets four for the team off his hip, thanks to a slither of bat, very fine on the legside. Another full toss from Craig, who has been around the wicket this over, and Voges beats midwicket but finds Boult at wide long on. Leg slip in place for Smith, who skips down and works through midwicket for another single.
48th over: Australia 191-2 (Smith 91, Voges 75)
Smith turns another from off to leg for a single before Southee finds a trampoline halfway down the track and bowlers a short ball that passes high over Voges’ head. There is some swing on offer for Southee but he’s a bit too wide to get the right-handers in trouble.
“That’s just typical of the Aussies,” writes Leslie Walke from Malmo. “Any normal team would enter into the spirit of the game and be 102-8 by now, not getting-on-for-200-2.”
47th over: Australia 190-2 (Smith 90, Voges 75)
During the drinks break, Alistair Connor emailed in:
“As you don’t seem to have a riff going yet this session, may I offer a late contribution to the overnight one of substitute fielders in literature:
“In Salman Rushdie’s opus, The Moor’s Last Sigh, there is an evil character who is an obvious parody of Bal Thackeray, the hard-right Mumbai Hindu nationalist. This character is known as J.O. Fielding, because as a boy he used to hang around the cricket club begging for a chance to play : « Just one batting ! Just one bowling ! Just one… »
“But you knew all that, of course.”
Three from the over...
46th over: Australia 186-2 (Smith 88, Voges 73)
Southee’s trying to make something happen and decides to come around the wicket to Smith, after Voges runs one down to fine leg. Smith responds with a gorgeous in-out drive through extra cover.
“I like Voges,” emails Robert Wilson. He’s a hard make to dislike, Rob. “There’s something nuggety and old-school about him.
“Additionally, I can’t help thinking that he must unquestionably be the youngest-looking 36 yr old in the history of the known universe. AND he (very nearly) has a really beautiful square in Paris named after him. What’s not to like?”
45th over: Australia 181-2 (Smith 84, Voges 72)
Craig with a smart over – just one from it and it’s to Voges. Guess where? Yep, around that corner.
44th over: Australia 180-2 (Smith 84, Voges 71)
Southee stitches together a fine start to the over but is let down by some poor fielding which gifts Voges a single third ball. Smith takes two off the penultimate ball as Southee over-pitches.
43rd over: Australia 177-2 (Smith 82, Voges 70)
Craig has a third man in place now to cut out that reverse sweep option. Good bowling by Craig to put two on the length that Voges was happy to play around the corner on the offside. He leaves these both but gets one into him soon after to take the single on offer behind square on the legside. Taylor comes into slip from that third man for Smith and a skewed drive goes through that recently vacated area for four.
42nd over: Australia 172-2 (Smith 78, Voges 69)
Tubs, Slats and Nicholases are discussing what Australia will declare on tomorrow lunchtime. They’ve settled around the 360 mark, expecting New Zealand to give it a “right good go”, as Voges fails to beat the offside so settles for one into leg.
41st over: Australia 171-2 (Smith 78, Voges 68)
Thick inside edge and bat-pad gets twitchy. Smith is the batsman and he was probably a bit hard-handed with that defensive shot. Tom Latham is the man in close and he’s struck on the shin pad as Smith works one through him – not a catching chance by any stretch – for a single. Voges gets one shorter and beats him easily.
40th over: Australia 169-2 (Smith 77, Voges 67)
Voges flicks to leg for one and Smith has four “no no, not now”-s before picking up his own single into square leg.
39th over: Australia 167-2 (Smith 76, Voges 66)
Craig continuing and he’s giving the ball some air. But he can’t maintain a consistent length and Voges is able to push him around the corner. Smith then skips down and gets a single to the man back at long on before Voges gets out the reverse again and gets four more. Flatter from Craig and Voges dabs to point for a single. The lead is now 102.
38th over: Australia 160-2 (Smith 75, Voges 60)
Smith is livid with himself after he defends a ball into the offside which he didn’t middle and could have left. Yeah Steve, that was rubbish. Maiden.
37th over: Australia 160-2 (Smith 75, Voges 60)
Adam Voges pulls out the reverse sweep to hit Craig through a bare third man region. Four. That after Smith CTRL-V-ed the first ball.
36th over: Australia 155-2 (Smith 74, Voges 56)
Second ball, Smith finds a single into the legside. I just CTRL V-ed the last bit of that. Voges then dots out the remaining four deliveries.
Updated
35th over: Australia 154-2 (Smith 73, Voges 56)
Smith gets a single straightaway and then Craig bowls a full toss and Voges bunts it for four through cover. Pretty poor, but the next three deliveries are right on the money and twice Voges has to defend and then use his bat a second time to prevent the ball from rolling onto his stumps.
34th over: Australia 149-2 (Smith 72, Voges 52)
Streaky from Voges, but that’s his fifty from 85 balls, as he edges Bracewell inside gully for four down to third man. That’s also the hundred partnership from 26.1 overs. There’s a gap at square leg which Voges takes with ease. Smith does the same, picking one up from outside off and wristing it out to the man in the deep.
33rd over: Australia 142-2 (Smith 70, Voges 47)
Smart shot from Voges: he gets forward to Craig but the ball is short. Rather than push straight back, he contorts himself into the offside while maintaining the same base and laps the ball square. It looks set for four but Doug Bracewell does some good work in the deep to save two. Craig then somehow oversteps from four paces. No ball.
With his firm "no, not now" and crisp "one run", Steve Smith is a world leader in calling between the wickets right now #AUSvNZ
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) November 16, 2015
32nd over: Australia 139-2 (Smith 70, Voges 45)
Smith is driving like a star and it’s only extra cover, with the help of mid off, that stops him from getting four form the first ball. However, after being brought back on strike, he opens the face to a drive and beats point and cover point for the first four of the third session.
31st over: Australia 133-2 (Smith 65, Voges 44)
Craig turns one into Smith, first up, and it’s dabbed around the corner and a two is scampered. Do I smell intent? The rest of the over is about the same as Smith and Voges exchange singles. Smith nabs the strike with one to deep midwicket.
Evening session, all. Vish here to take you through to close. Just seen that odd Mitchell Marsh segment, which finished with Mitch looking straight through the camera lens and saying: “It is an honour to be given this opportunity to cement my place as an allrounder in this Australian side.” This was a few moments after he was talking about roast dinners.
“I’m with Robert Wilson – Zooper Dooper? Never heard of it,” emails John Phaceas.
“But I reckon it’s what Mark Craig calls the (very) occasional ball that isn’t completely nude.”
I can’t pretend to know how this discussion started or indeed what it’s about, but I wholeheartedly support the Craig sentiment here. The players are back out there and the Zooper Dooper Trooper is kicking us off...
Tea on day four - Australia leads by 63 runs with 8 wickets remaining.
30th over: Australia 128-2 ( Smith 61, Voges 42)
Doug Bracewell gets the honour of what’s likely to be the final over before lunch and Brendon McCullum helps him out with a very short mid-on stationed right at the edge of the pitch. Voges isn’t tempted to bunt one in that direction and that maiden is indeed the final of the session. He and Smith have now shared in an 82-run partnership to right the ship after some early wickets.
Anthony Reynolds has a point about ice-based snacks that is valid. “Even in mild temperatures the Sunnyboy is reknown for breaking down in a sticky pyramid of orangey-sugary slop. Not even the most skilled multi-tasker could avoid their keyboard being rendered a tacky mess in those conditions...opening right up an avenue about sticky keyboard jokes that I’m not nearly delicate enough to conclude with. Just stick with the Super Doopers. Cola and Lime best.”
Well, I don’t even have the option right now so Zooper Dooper it is. As I head off to grab one (I think there’s a grape and an orange left), please make Vish welcome as he steps into the hot seat for the final session.
29th over: Australia 128-2 ( Smith 61, Voges 42)
Better spinners than Mark Craig have come to Australia and struggled, so we shouldn’t be too harsh on him, but he’s resigned to pure containment now and gathers another maiden. With five minutes and probably only one more over until tea, Steve Smith isn’t taking any chances.
Finally someone appears to take my bait on the Dean Jones tweet and it’s Phil Russell with the honours. “The more I read Dean Jones’ tweet the less it makes sense,” says Phil. “I mean, firstly in snooker there are 15 reds, so even if it was snooker we’d still have 4 reds to go, and secondly the balls aren’t “changed” in snooker - they all start on the table until you clear them one at a time.”
“If Dean wants something more accurate in his snooker-related cricket banter can I suggest “Got through 11 red balls so far this test match - 4 more and we can start on the colours #totalclearance. Thanks.”
28th over: Australia 127-2 ( Smith 61, Voges 42)
“What, in the name of all that is holy, is a Zooper Dooper?” asks Robert Wilson as Steve Smith faces up to Doug Bracewell. You don’t have Zooper Doopers in Paris, Bob? It’s a long tube of frozen, luridly coloured ice. You’ve got your traditional raspberry, orange and cola flavours, but then it starts getting weird; should any food really be lime green? Probably not. Is my body now full of food stuff that will never actually break down organically? I’ll just put off further consideration of that. Anyway, it’s another tidy over from Bracewell. I’d nearly let him bowl a maiden for my life at the moment.
27th over: Australia 125-2 ( Smith 60, Voges 41)
Craig’s bowled a little better in the last few overs but that’s only because he’s come around the wicket and bowled a negative line on leg stump with a leg slip in place. This is hardly attacking cricket from the Kiwis. Should they really just sit and wait like this? Surely it’s the point of the game where you’ve got to attack.
26th over: Australia 122-2 ( Smith 58, Voges 40)
Bang! Smith gets on the front foot and belts the leather off it as he cover-drives Henry for another boundary. Well, not literally, but you never know with these Kookaburra balls. Mike Hussey asks whether Henry is “honing in on a crack” and maybe I’m just getting a little delirious in the heat but it makes me laugh heartily.
@rustyjacko the only thing that should be above World Health Organisation levels is bacon intake.
— Alex Paull (@alex_paull) November 16, 2015
That's 50 for Steve Smith!
25th over: Australia 112-2 ( Smith 51, Voges 40)
He’s been relegated to a bit-part player by the efforts of Warner, Khawaja and Burns so far in this series, but Steve Smith moves to a 57-ball half century here as he continues to steady the ship. There was 8 boundaries in that first 50.
24th over: Australia 112-2 ( Smith 48, Voges 40)
As the temperature in the OBO sauna continues to rise beyond World Health Organisation recommended levels, Matt Henry goes through the motions again and ends up with a maiden.
Ian Forth doesn’t like James Brayshaw’s conversational tics, though I’m in no position to judge because I’m always posing rhetorical questions in an attempt to get people emailing me, which is about the saddest thing in the world really. “Would it be possible for James Brayshaw to stop asking rhetorical questions that,” says Ian, “because it’s James Brayshaw doing the asking, always make me scream the opposite of what he is demanding? “How good is that?” “IT’S SORT OF OK, BUT I’VE SEEN BETTER”. “Who says Test cricket isn’t entertaining?” “NEARLY EVERYBODY IN THE KNOWN WORLD”.
Hang on, don’t you mean nobody in the known world? Are there really people who don’t like cricket? Name and shame these weirdos Ian.
23rd over: Australia 112-2 ( Smith 48, Voges 40)
He only picks up a single, but Smith gives Mark Craig the “I don’t rate you in the slightest” dance down the wicket from the first ball of this over. Voges does all the talking required next up, lathering an exquisite cover drive to the fence when Craig lobs up a half volley. Will Craig get a third over? He’d do better send it down left-handed than he did there.
22nd over: Australia 104-2 ( Smith 46, Voges 34)
The Australian pair has 35 minutes to negotiate before tea and I have the same amount of time until I can move to another room, crank up a fan and grab a Zooper Dooper. If someone would like to start a crowd funding campaign so I can update to a Sunnyboy, it would be greatly appreciated. Smith brings up Australia’s 100 by pushing Henry for a single through cover, which is nothing on the textbook hok shot Voges controls down to the carpet to bisect the men at fine leg and deep backward square leg. Are we all glad the selectors stuck with him now? I know I am.
21st over: Australia 98-2 ( Smith 45, Voges 29)
Ooh, little bit of spin now as Smith and Voges continue to solidify this partnership. He drops short and wide outside off stump and though he nearly needs a broom to get to it, Voges cuts viciously for four and then should have pulled another the next ball, but he whacks it straight at the man at backward square leg. That over in a word: rubbish.
20th over: Australia 92-2 ( Smith 44, Voges 24)
I’ve gotta tell you folks, it is sweltering hot now in at OBO HQ but I can’t turn on the air conditioner because it shorts out the power in this room for some reason not yet established. I’m starting to understand how Dean Jones felt in Madras back in 1986. Smith gets a single off Henry but I barely take it in because I’m seeing visions of Greg Matthews bowling in a long-sleeve sweater and baggy green cap in 46-degree heat.
19th over: Australia 91-2 ( Smith 43, Voges 24)
Don’t be fooled by the rocks in the slot, Doug’s still Doug’s still Dougie from the Block. It’s another maiden for Doug Bracewell, the first Test cricketer I’ve inserted into Jennifer Lopez lyrics but hopefully not the last.
18th over: Australia 91-2 ( Smith 43, Voges 24)
Matt Henry replaces Southee, perhaps a little prematurely if you ask me, but he does draw an early edge from Voges and it skids away past the cordon before crashing into the fence at third man. Unlucky. Henry hasn’t done a lot in this Test to suggest he’ll scare decent Test batting line-ups, though conditions have hardly suited the bowlers I suppose.
Always good to get a look at Gloucester Park, but it’s no Oval gasometer #testmatchfurniture
— Tom Cowie (@tom_cowie) November 16, 2015
17th over: Australia 84-2 ( Smith 42, Voges 18)
Before this Test, Australian cricket legend Allan Border said he’d have Kane Williamson bat for his life. If I was to pick a bowler capable of producing a maiden to save my life (and what a truly weird hostage scenario that would be) it probably wouldn’t be Doug Bracewell. Nevertheless he produces the feat here. Well done Doug, you’ve crept onto my long list.
11 red balls have been changed in this Test now. If we were playing snooker... We would be on the coloured balls now! 😜
— Dean Jones (@ProfDeano) November 16, 2015
16th over: Australia 84-2 ( Smith 42, Voges 18)
Tim Southee is back after drinks and with an hour before tea, I’m sure he’s steeling himself for a couple of impactful spells. Australia now leads by 19 but a wicket or two would throw the cat amongst the pigeons. “Who says Test cricket isn’t entertaining?” asks James Brayshaw on the home broadcaster. “Nobody” is the conclusion I find myself settling on.
Drinks - Smith and Voges are now well set.
15th over: Australia 82-2 ( Smith 41, Voges 17)
If not a fine wine – because wine is a bit fancy for such a humble bloke – Adam Voges is ageing like a bottle of commemorative Port. You know, the ones they release for a footy club premiership? I’m never gonna drink it but I’ll be blowed if I won’t stick it on the good shelf in the games room and admire it. In that light, Voges clips Bracewell to the fine leg boundary and then leans into an on-drive that tells you everything about his evolution as a batsman. He’d do that in his sleep.
Updated
14th over: Australia 73-2 ( Smith 41, Voges 8)
The man they call Smudger is just batting a treat today and moves quickly into the 40s with two to square leg and then a sumptuous (sorry Mark Nicholas, I’m borrowing it) flick to the long-on boundary. This is “you bloody bet we’re settin youse a target” batting. I’m pretty sure that’s how Smith would put it.
13th over: Australia 66-2 ( Smith 34, Voges 8)
In a continued sign that he really does know this venue better than any other player in the game (yes, better than Warner), Voges repeats his action of the first innings to cut Bracewell hard on a downward trajectory into the square so it bounces over the head of the ring fielders. That is what you call veteran experience. It gets him three.
12th over: Australia 63-2 ( Smith 34, Voges 5)
Boult’s probably good for a rest now, you’d think. As he tires he tends to offer up the odd buffet ball and Smith cashes in here with two and then a pair of boundaries, the last of which is dismissively cracked down to long-off.
Sean Carless has a query. “Bit of chatter on the interwebs about the fact not a single Aussie shook Ross Taylor’s hand after he was dismissed. Any thoughts?” I didn’t see it but being the last wicket, I assume a few of them sprinting off to get changed. I don’t think these two sides are hanging out all night after play but they seem to get on okay.
11th over: Australia 53-2 ( Smith 24, Voges 5)
Dougie Bracewell appears now for his first spell of the day and Smith’s switched to a more deferential mode of batting now, happy to turn singles off his hip and wait for the truly terrible ball rather than forcing the issue. The bad ball does come, too. It’s short outside off and Voges swivels around to pull four.
10th over: Australia 48-2 ( Smith 23, Voges 1)
I don’t want to jump the gun here on the Australian pair but what a big moment this second innings could be for Mitchell Marsh who, for all his promise, has mostly failed in his attempts at truly meaningful Test knocks. He was solid in the UAE I suppose. Anyway, this could be a time to earn his stripes.
9th over: Australia 47-2 ( Smith 22, Voges 1)
We’re still having problems with these Kookaburra balls, by the way. New Zealand have already replaced theirs. Southee seems to be doing a decent job with the new one too and Voges sits tight in a maiden over.
8th over: Australia 47-2 ( Smith 22, Voges 1)
Remember, Australia is effectively 47-3 at the moment because Usman Khawaja can’t bat with a runner, even if he wants to get out there and do a job for his team. Adam Voges appears to bat again on his home deck and I get the feeling the single he calmly pushes to leg first up is a sign of things to come; patience first. It’ll also be interesting to see if and how Steve Smith adjusts now because if he falls, New Zealand are right in with a chance of pulling off a huge comeback win. Proper Test cricket now, innit?
WICKET! Warner c Latham b Boult 24 (Australia 46-2)
This is getting really interesting now. Warner perishes in a fashion that really could have been avoided when he chases a wide and full one from Boult and really reaches to slap it into the path of Latham at short extra cover. He was stationed in close for that exact reason and Warner’s hit is straight at him. Game. On.
7th over: Australia 46-1 ( Warner 24, Smith 22)
This is a full-on assault by the Australian pair. Smith takes his turn now, blitzing successive boundaries to deep cover and deep square leg from Southee’s second and third deliveries of the over. They’re going at a run a ball at the moment.
6th over: Australia 38-1 ( Warner 24, Smith 14)
Something else I wonder vis a vis this whole sub-fielding thing; do parents still let their kids stay down at the cricket club all day in the hope that they’ll get to field for the seniors? That used to be the done thing but if my superficial knowledge of modern parenting is any guide I think it might be a thing of the past. Apparently Milo cricket sessions last 45 minutes now. I wouldn’t even get through my run-up in that time. I bet David Warner used to field for the seniors when he was a kid. He finishes this Boult over by hammering four straight down the ground.
Updated
5th over: Australia 30-1 ( Warner 16, Smith 14)
I wasn’t scolding Neil Zimmerman before, by the way. I’ve done plenty of shameful things in cricket matches. Facing a hefty defeat in a one-day match out in Melbourne’s east one day, I pretended I couldn’t find a ball that’d flown over the fence and for a good 10 minutes held up the game under the incorrect assumption that rain was on the way. The sun kept shining and we kept getting punished. All I deserved, really.
Sam Fiddian is talking himself down but has a lovely addition to sub-fielder chat. “Since it seems the sound I hear is the bottom of a barrel being vigorously scraped, might I offer that the greatest substitute fielder in literary history appears in LP Hartley’s The Go-Between; the narrator appears as a sub, takes a match-winning catch, but appears on the scoresheet anonymously - a moment full of symbolic significance for anyone who has read the book, and probably boring the arse off anyone who hasn’t.”
Warner and Smith look like they’re in a hurry for runs here; maybe the Aussies will chase a result after all.
4th over: Australia 26-1 ( Warner 13, Smith 13)
Smith took an age to get going in the first innings but perhaps the sight of Taylor rekindling his form with such ease has freed his mind a little because he cracks Boult for another attractive boundary, this time pulling to deep square leg. Not to be outdone, Warner belts one of his own with a blazing cut shot to finish the over.
Phil Rebbeck has another nice addition to the sub-fielding files. “As far as sub fielders taking catches in Test matches goes, one of the most memorable was Ian Gould’s at Melbourne in 1983 to dismiss Greg Chappell. England went on to win a thrilling test by 3 runs (although they almost blew it).”
3rd over: Australia 16-1 ( Warner 8, Smith 8)
With Khawaja done for, captain Steve Smith shuffles back into the No3 slot and Southee’s looking to get a bite from him outside off stump as well. Smith bides his time before unleashing a pair of fearful drives through cover, both of which slam into the fence.
Neil Zimmerman has a truly shameful sub-fielding story. “I once feigned an attempt at catching a team mate whilst substitute fielding for the opposition purely out of spite after they refused to give one of their own out stumped (whilst I was keeping) despite the fact their bat was clearly in the air and admitting as such. I resorted to the old “running to far under the ball trick”. Not my proudest cricketing moment.”
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WICKET! Burns c Taylor b Southee 0 (Australia 8-1)
Burns goes! Southee strikes with his very first ball after lunch, swinging it away from Burns a touch and when the Queenslander nibbles at it with an ineffective forward prod, the thick edge flies through to Taylor at first slip. This is a super start for the Kiwis.
2nd over: Australia 8-0 (Burns 0, Warner 8)
Orright we’re back with Trent Boult edging in to Warner from the Members End and curling it away gently from the left-hander. Raymond Reardon has a super-sub query. “Jarryd Hayne wouldn’t make the list, would he ?” I see what you did there Raymond.
Warner’s off the mark in familiar style, leaning into a cover drive that is gentle in execution but most profitable in output because the ball races off the bat for a boundary. He swings a little harder at Boult’s final delivery and picks up four more in the same direction. Easy as you like.
A sub-fielding email
Can we just spend the rest of this (likely drawn) Test talking about sub-fielders? Caveat: no Gary Pratt. Ian Forth has an addition.
“This is bizarre, and reminiscent of Under 12s cricket rather than the Ashes,” he says. “When WG Grace injured a finger in the first Test ever played at Lord’s in 1884, the fielder who came out to replace him was … the Australian skipper, Billy Murdoch. “Tup” Scott soon offered a catch off the legspin of AG Steel, Murdoch held on, and so became the first sub to take a catch in a Test. His own side were all out as a consequence. Different times all right.”
Outrageous that he didn’t honour the club cricket tradition of doing a passable job of making it look like a mere half-chance by acrobatically dropping it.
And finally, the best of them all
It’s good news for Marnus Labuschagne that he’s won himself a regular spot in the Queensland Shield side right now, but Australia could use him for efforts like last summer’s diving catch at short leg off Nathan Lyon. Superb. Watch this one to the end for his unconventional preparation for the sub-fielding job.
Super Sabburg
Because you know you want to... (also, how did I forget Jordan Silk before?)
Imagine that. “What’d you do on the weekend Chris?”
“Err, caught Kevin Pietersen in a Test match, actually.”
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More sub-fielding fun
People are flooding me* with suggestions for sub-fielders who’ve taken catches in Tests. I’d gone with Marnus Labuschagne, Jon Wells and Rhett Lockyear, but Peter Cantrell and Chris Sabburg have also been mentioned. Anyone got an addition for me?
Remember Theo Doropoulos? Of course you do. The thing I love most about this one is that when he finally held a chance, Slats incorrectly identified him as Marcus Stoinis.
*two responses and counting.
Lunch on day four - New Zealand leads by 65 runs
1st over: Australia 0-0 (Burns 0, Warner 0)
We have just the single over before lunch but resisting the urge to stay back in the sheds with his bucket of the Colonel’s finest, Ross Taylor strides out to the middle with his teammates for Southee’s brief burst of out-swing. Burns faces up and perhaps doesn’t expect the ball to rise as sharply as the second on does. It nips out and cannons into his back leg where there’s no padding or protection.
With that ball in mind, Burns does everything humanly possible to delay an extra over by heading down the pitch and doing a bit of gardening before Southee’s final delivery; lingering so long in the middle with Warner that they could have recorded an episode of Burke’s Backyard. It does the trick. Southee’s maiden down, Nigel Llong takes the bails and we’re done for the first session. It was another good one for New Zealand, who’ve fought back in style in this game.
New Zealand lead by 65 runs on the first innings
And some more numbers on that Taylor innings, which was the highest against Australia (in Australia) in Tests: his 290 came from 374 balls and featured 43 fours. What a star. We’re now only moments away from Australia’s second innings.
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WICKET! Taylor c sub (Wells) b Lyon 290 - New Zealand all out for 624!
Taylor finally goes! What a knock! What a pity that is. He’d moved within two lusty blows of a triple century and with Lyon tossing one up he had a crack, slog-sweeping into the deep where the sub-fielder Jono Wells swooped to take a very smart catch. With that New Zealand’s innings is done at a mammoth total of 624.
Shit.
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) November 16, 2015
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153rd over: New Zealand 622-9 (Taylor 289, Boult 22)
The subliminal advertising never stops on Channel Nine. Actually it’s not even subliminal. Following on from all the ‘Toyota leap’ nonsense that went with David Warner’s double-century, a sight screen advertisement for KFC has prompted a digression from Ian Smith, who says that Ross Taylor is in the habit of celebrating his greatest batting efforts with a big serving of the dirty bird. Do you reckon he’s an original recipe man? Hot ‘n spicy? Wicked wings? I’m getting indigestion just thinking about it, and that’s before I start watching this over of Steve Smith leg spin.
152nd over: New Zealand 621-9 (Taylor 288, Boult 22)
This is the first time New Zealand have passed 600 against Australia, reader Ian Forth kindly informs me. “Pakistan have done it once, West Indies twice, South Africa 3 times, India 5 times, England 7 times.” Is Boult’s slog-fest making Taylor more or less confident of getting over the line here? The batting hero of the game looks absolutely stuffed, to be honest. He’ll have the strike for the next over.
Richard Hanson is back. “So, what are Australia’s options now? Get some needed bating practice into the middle order by changing up the batting list, or try to hit the fastest 300 ever and have a couple of sessions at the kiwis on day five and try to force a result? Or something else? Thoughts?”
Do you think I was kidding about the beach cricket?
151st over: New Zealand 618-9 (Taylor 285, Boult 21)
This is absolute filth from Trent Boult and accordingly, completely brilliant. The shots he plays in this aren’t even in the vocabulary of coaching manuals; cross-batted tennis shots if tennis had no such thing as a baseline. There’s six, four, four in quick succession, and the middle one I’d describe as an inside-out straight pull. If you’re not enjoying this artless slogging you don’t have a pulse.
Boult the dominant partner in an unbroken stand of 32. #AUSvNZ
— Gigs (@AndrewGigacz) November 16, 2015
150th over: New Zealand 602-9 (Taylor 285, Boult 6)
Abstemious again in the face of Lyon’s spin, Taylor refuses to have a bash at this triple-century and this time can’t get a single to finish the over either. Good friend of the OBO Robert McLiam Wilson is back with more welcome news from Paris.
“A tiny bit of welcome news from Paris. A friend of mine from that wounded neighbourhood, about whom I had been very worried, finally turned up tonight safe and well. He has a bonafide link with the OBO. He was one of the select few French people I told about your story of seeing the drunk trying to punch the seagull (it’s a different kind of funny in French but it’s still got legs). He loved the story but was perplexed by the format.”
A cricket match?
Yeah.
In a newspaper?
Yeah.
You don’t watch it?
Not always.
Some guy writes about it?
Yeah.
While it happens?
Uhuh.
With stuff about seagulls?
Erm...yeah.
Mais quand meme vous êtes des nouilles.
“The polite translation of nouilles is noodles. It’s not really what he meant.”
Is attempting to punch seagulls not the done thing in the city of love, Bob? Talk about sophisticated...
149th over: New Zealand 602-9 (Taylor 285, Boult 6)
With the brutal figures of 1-157 off 28 next to his name, Mitchell Johnson takes a rest and gives Josh Hazlewood a go at knocking over Trent Boult. He’s tailing it in towards the right-hander’s leg stump but with his ungainly, homespun technique, Boult manages to survive three of Hazlewood’s best.
148th over: New Zealand 601-9 (Taylor 284, Boult 6)
After 37 overs of back-breaking toil, Mitchell Starc has finally conceded defeat in his quest for a fifth wicket so Nathan Lyon returns to the attack in his place. Taylor’s on strike but somewhat bizarrely, he barely even looks to score until stroking a single down to long-on off the final delivery of the over.
Come on Boulty.
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) November 16, 2015
147th over: New Zealand 600-9 (Taylor 283, Boult 6)
Johnson might be operating at half rat power now but he’s got Boult backing away to square leg like a schoolboy, yet he still carves two through cover to bring up New Zealand’s 600. Reader Richard Woods has a reasonable and considered take on my pitch comments from earlier. “As an Englishman, I well remember that the rocking horse had diarrhoea at Adelaide in December 2006.”
146th over: New Zealand 598-9 (Taylor 283, Boult 4)
Taylor continues to play with fire by giving Boult the strike but his teammate is up to the task at the moment and gets off strike himself with a leg bye. Taylor celebrates by slashing four through backward point from a full toss. He wants 300, Starc wants a fifth wicket, but who’ll get there?
145th over: New Zealand 592-9 (Taylor 278, Boult 4)
Poor Mitch Johnson (again, can’t believe I’m typing that) has struggled in this game but he doesn’t give Taylor much room to free his arms here so the batsman has to take a single when it’s on offer from the third delivery and expose Boult in the process. Steve Smith brings the field right in around the tailender. Such is Johnson’s luck, Boult gets a thick edge for four down to the vacant third man region.
Richard Hanson has an idea to spice things up. “I think cricket should introduce a new rule whereby if the teams still haven’t finished their first innings by lunch on day four, all scores from the first innings are considered equal, then the bottom five batsmen from each team are the only ones allowed to bat for the second innings and the top five batsmen are the only ones allowed to bowl. Should get the punters in the seats for the final day.”
Another: why don’t they just settle this with a game of beach cricket? It could serve as an Olympic warm-up. All beverages supplied by Allan Border, Ray Phillips, Thomo and Greg Ritchie.
144th over: New Zealand 587-9 (Taylor 277, Boult 0)
Starc has a big chance for a much-deserved Michelle Five-for here with Boult perhaps not odds-on to survive four 146kmph yorkers but that he does, defying physics by seeming to both run towards square leg and move forward to defend in the one motion. Taylor’s gotta go the tonk in the next over, right?
Ross Taylor now has the highest Test score of all time by a New Zealander away from home #ausvnz
— Brydon Coverdale (@brydoncoverdale) November 16, 2015
WICKET! Southee c&b Starc 21 (New Zealand 587-9)
Starc gets his fourth wicket as Southee goes! Ross Taylor has been the star of this New Zealand innings but how about Starc firing them down at an average speed of 146 clicks for 36 overs? Here he gets just reward for his efforts when an attempted yorker ends up a low full toss and Southee clips it straight back into the path of the bowler. Starc’s very happy to clasp the catch and send the Kiwi on his way.
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143rd over: New Zealand 587-8 (Taylor 277, Southee 21)
A little predictably, Taylor picks up a pair of twos and a boundary as Johnson continues to flag in pace, direction and energy. As Johnson finishes up that over, reader Raymond Reardon is getting nostalgic in another sense.
“On a day for the underdogs, when the Kiwi’s have overtaken the Aussies in a cricket Test Match, Les Murray ( Laszlo Urge: Hungarian translation ) will be able to celebrate the Mighty Magyars of Hungary qualifying for a major competition (Euro 2016 ) for the first time in over 32 years on the 10-year anniversary of Australia beating Uruguay to qualify for the World Cup of 2006 after a 32 year gap. Have the Kiwi’s beaten Australia in a test match in the last 32 years?” [Note: check out Pete Smith’s fond remembrance of November 16, 2005 right here]
Surely you jest, Raymond?
142nd over: New Zealand 579-8 (Taylor 269, Southee 21)
Lyon returns to the attack and although there’s a couple of chances for a single, Southee is wary of keeping the in-form Taylor on strike for the next over, where he’ll have a chance of belting Johnson around a bit. I never thought I’d be typing that sentence.
141st over: New Zealand 579-8 (Taylor 269, Southee 21)
Whoosh! If Mitch Johnson is on his last legs as a Test bowler, Tim Southee isn’t giving him the kindest farewell present when he belts him high, wide and handsome for a six onto the hill at deep mid-wicket and then rubs it in by turning four more to fine leg. “When it rains, it pours” says Brett Lee. Maybe some rain would make this a bit more interesting. Leave the pitch uncovered if so?
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140th over: New Zealand 568-8 (Taylor 269, Southee 10)
Perhaps learning from Starc’s errors of the previous over, Hazlewood is jamming it into Southee’s pads first up and looking for a way through the gap between bat and pad. Mark Taylor thinks he’s too straight. You can’t please everybody. Taylor flicks his 41st boundary down to the fence at fine leg.
Matt Harris arrives with our first reader email of the day and it’s a question. “Which do you think is more likely: a break in play for snow to be cleared from the WACA pitch, or a result in this test? This would be a great surface for an untimed test I reckon.” I think we’re more likely to see this pitch fertilised with rocking horse droppings than a result. Could be wrong.
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New Zealand take a first innings lead!
139th over: New Zealand 563-8 (Taylor 265, Southee 9)
Tim Southee’s here for a good time, not a long time. He’s watchful for a couple of balls and then takes a big swipe when Starc pitches outside off and the thick edge flies away over the cordon for a boundary. Far better is an on-drive next up, which speeds away to the boundary at deep mid-wicket to move New Zealand into the position of a first innings lead.
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WICKET! Henry b Starc 6 (New Zealand 554-8)
Starc breaks through with a big yorker! That’s Henry’s off stump splattered then. Not much you can do about that. This is a matter of novelty value now, the New Zealand innings. Can they edge their way to another six runs to claim the psychological advantage of a first-innings lead? And does it even count as one on a pitch like this?
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138th over: New Zealand 554-7 (Taylor 265, Henry 6)
For what seems the hundredth time in the innings (it must be at least twenty) Ross Taylor just leans onto his front foot and cracks a straight drive past an Australian bowler – this time Hazlewood – to pick up four. Steve Smith brings the field up for the last few balls of the over to try and get Henry on strike and Taylor responds admirably, belting the paceman for a boundary over long-on and then a carbon copy over long-off. He’s eclipsed David Warner’s score from earlier in the game now. What a star.
137th over: New Zealand 542-7 (Taylor 253, Henry 6)
Taylor’s taking the Mike Hussey approach (Hussarian?) to batting with the tail here, taking the single early in the over and trusting Henry to survive Starc’s thunderbolts. Henry goes even better, edging low and wide of gully for four. Steve Smith glares at him like he’s just stolen the jam out of his donut.
Twin 250s in a Test: Hunte/Sobers, Simpson/Barrington, de Silva/Crowe, Sanga/Mahela, Warner/Taylor #AusvNZ
— Ric Finlay (@RicFinlay) November 16, 2015
136th over: New Zealand 537-7 (Taylor 252, Henry 2)
Josh Hazlewood comes into the attack now to replace Lyon, who was out of sorts in his first few overs. The big paceman is hitting his normal nagging line in the channel outside off but again, I can’t help but feel some stump-to-stump action might be a little better against Henry, who just sways and leaves for the most part and then clips two through cover to get off the mark. I was a bit harsh on Henry. He looks perfectly capable of hanging in there for Taylor’s sake.
More from the 140-character Don:
Why on Earth would anyone want to copy my action? https://t.co/0UVBq8824k
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) November 15, 2015
Taylor reaches 250!
135th over: New Zealand 535-7 (Taylor 252, Henry 0)
Ross Taylor might have to make hay here when he’s on strike if he’s to reach a triple-century. Starc drops short and a little wide first up and Taylor slashes him for four with an aggressive cut shot and then clips two wide of cover as well. He makes it a very profitable over and brings up his 250 when Starc angles one far too wide outside off and the burly Taylor slams it through cover for four more.
134th over: New Zealand 525-7 (Taylor 242, Henry 0)
Matt Henry’s the new man for the Kiwis and if Lyon’s first ball to him is any indication, I’m not sure why he’s batting ahead of Tim Southee. Henry’s first-class average of 21 isn’t exactly awful though. We’ll see.
WICKET! Craig c Johnson b Lyon 15 (New Zealand 525-7)
Craig holes out! Off-spinners normally pride themselves on not getting out to their opposite number but after skipping down the pitch and crunching Lyon for a huge straight six, Mark Craig gets a little cocky and in trying to repeat the does, shanks an inside edge straight to Mitchell Johnson at wide mid-on. Taylor might run out of partners now.
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133rd over: New Zealand 519-6 (Taylor 242, Craig 9)
Starc’s wisely seeking to angle a big yorker into the toes of the left-handed Craig and bowling a stump-to-stump line, a trick so often missed by pacemen bowling at tailenders; they miss, you hit. Craig takes a kamikze single to Marsh at mid-on but the Australian all-rounder misses with a side-on attempt at the stumps that would have run his man out by a good metre. They have every right to be tired at this point, Australia, but it’s been a shaggy fielding performance from them in this Test all the same.
132nd over: New Zealand 518-6 (Taylor 242, Craig 8)
Lyon’s second over of the morning costs just a single to Craig as Taylor continues to look for aggressive strokes and for those keeping an eye on the sub fielding situation, Jono Wells is back for another day despite the horror moment yesterday when he lost track of one out on the fence of the skipper’s bowling. Of all the times to commit a gaffe like that...
131st over: New Zealand 517-6 (Taylor 242, Craig 7)
He bowled a marathon 30-over stint yesterday but Mitchell Starc is back for more here at the start of day four and he’s straight into the action, drawing an edge from Taylor that flies high and wide of a diving David Warner at gully for four. Bowler and batsman are in much the same position now; Taylor’s lusty swinging indicates he might be too worn out for subtlety as he bats for the third successive day of this game. The upshot is that we could be in for some batting fireworks. New Zealand now trail by just 42 runs.
130th over: New Zealand 511-6 (Taylor 236, Craig 7)
Aaaand we’re away on day four and it’s Ross Taylor who starts the scoring with a single to leg off Nathan Lyon, who’ll probably put in a decent shift this morning given the fatigue levels of his pace-bowling colleagues. Lyon’s a little wide to Mark Craig but gets away with dragging one down to his fellow offie.
Around the grounds
If you’re not keeping track of the various Sheffield Shield fixtures around the country – all of which have the possibility of impacting upon Australia’s team selection for Adelaide – here’s a bit of a summary.
We’ll start at the MCG, where Victoria take on Western Australia. In the Bushrangers’ first innings there was 98 runs for Glenn Maxwell and 58 for all-rounder Marcus Stoinis. In WA’s reply, Shaun Marsh ended up with 64 and Michael Klinger 70. Both of them will vie for Usman Khawaja’s spot in the 3rd Test. The bad news in that innings was for bowlers Peter Siddle and James Pattinson, both of whom only managed one wicket as leggie Fawad Ahmed picked up five.
New South Wales’ clash with Tassie took on a greater level of importance for Ed Cowan and Nic Maddinson, but with 13 and 6 respectively, they hardly made a statement. Doug Bollinger has 6 wickets thusfar and Jackson Bird bowled tidily for 3 for Tasmania.
The only player in realistic contention out of the South Australia-Queensland game is Redbacks batsman Callum Ferguson but he failed with the bat in the first innings and hasn’t batted yet in the second.
Preamble
“If it’s not his last Test I think we’re getting very close to seeing the end of Mitchell Johnson.” - former Australian Test captain Mark Taylor.
Hello OBOers and welcome to day four of the 2nd Test. To start with let’s just drink in that quote, which was the first words out of Taylor’s lips as I flicked on the TV today. He’s not the only one thinking it, to be fair, with speculation swirling that the champion paceman might call it a day after this Test. More info on that as it’s at hand.
For now we focus on the resumption of Ross Taylor’s magnificent double-century and the possibility, just whisper it, that he might progress to three hundred today. If you want to get in touch with your thoughts on Mitch, Rosco, Usman Khawaja’s likely replacement or anything else on your mind you can get me on russell.jackson@theguardian.com or via Twitter: @rustyjacko
Russ will be here shortly to take you through the first couple of sessions at the Waca Ground, as New Zealand continue their determined fightback in this series. In the meantime check out yesterday’s match report for all the happenings on day three in Perth, where Ross Taylor reached an undefeated 235 by stumps.
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