A frantic day of cricket comes to an end
...and I don’t know about you but I’m tired just from watching it. New Zealand piled on 370 from 65.4 overs thanks to Brendon McCullum’s staggering 145 from 79 in his final Test. Along the way he lopped two deliveries off Viv Richards and Misbah-ul-Haq’s Test record for the fastest ton, which was 56 balls and is now 54. The outgoing Black Caps star batted like a man possessed.
This final session brought us relative calm, with David Warner the only man to depart in the Aussie reply when he was squared up by Trent Boult for 12. Joe Burns (27*) has scratched around and survived while Usman Khawaja (18*) continues to make batting look like performance art.
All this is to say that we’re well placed for a result in this Test and thus an answer as to whether Australia will take the No1 ranking or now. How could it be otherwise with cricket as lively as what we saw today? Make sure you drop by tomorrow for all the live action on day two. Adios!
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Stumps on day one at Hagley Oval - it's McCullum's day!
20th over: Australia 57-1 (Burns 27, Khawaja 18)
Well that’s stumps, in actual fact. I had my calculations wrong before and time crept up on us. Henry is still steaming in and Usman Khawaja does everything in his power to ensure that his over stretches past the point of 6pm local time. The bowler helps too when he changes his line from around the wicket to over with the lefty on strike. All that does the trick and a maiden over finishes a frenetic, run-laden day of Test cricket.
427 runs. 11 wickets. The fastest Test century of all time. A Brendon McCullum masterclass. Quite a day of cricket, all things considered.
19th over: Australia 57-1 (Burns 27, Khawaja 18)
It’s a bit of a thankless task but with four overs remaining for the day, Corey Anderson is given his first trundle and he appears at the crease with his whites covered in grass stains. By the looks of things he’s had an active stint in the outfield this afternoon. He wobbles his left-arm seamers about in tidy style but there’s nothing to trouble Burns, who is playing for stumps.
Corey Anderson bowling before Wagner. The "If it's your day, it's your day" principle
— Sports Freak (@Sportsfreakconz) February 20, 2016
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18th over: Australia 57-1 (Burns 27, Khawaja 18)
It’s been a little stodgy at times from Burns this afternoon but the situation sometimes demands it and he gets going again with an ugly but effective drive through cover for three. Khawaja watched the rest go by.
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17th over: Australia 54-1 (Burns 24, Khawaja 18)
Cricket looks disconcertingly easy to Usman Khawaja at the moment and there’s another sublime moment of batsmanship from him here when he gracefully drives Henry for a pair of boundaries, the second a gorgeous stroke through the vacant extra cover region. Us mortals couldn’t do something like that in our most vivid dreams. Still, to the fifth ball he’s a little sloppy in prodding aimlessly and almost edges towards the cordon when it jags away from him. He is human.
Lauded Warner's home record earlier this summer but away ledger is getting quite mediocre. Last made an overseas ton in October 2014
— Daniel Brettig (@danbrettig) February 20, 2016
16th over: Australia 46-1 (Burns 24, Khawaja 10)
There’s no drop-off in pace from Southee, who continues to hit the low 130s deep into this spell, but might McCullum be missing a trick in waiting so long to introduce the left-handed Wagner? Right as I say that Southee has a big LBW shout against Burns but McCullum fears an inside edge and doesn’t review it. Looked a bit high too. The over ends without further incident and we’re scheduled to have 6 more to finish day one.
15th over: Australia 45-1 (Burns 24, Khawaja 9)
It’s no insult to any player involved in this over that the highlight of it is Kiwi commentator Simon Doull broaching the subject of Shane Warne and exclaiming, “he’s been bitten on the head by an anaconda!”. Yes, I exercised restraint not to type that phonetically and according to Doull’s accent.
14th over: Australia 43-1 (Burns 22, Khawaja 9)
We’re now close enough to the close of play (8 overs remaining after this one) that the batsmen look like they’re shutting up shop a little but with 413 runs for the day we can hardly begrudge them that one. There’ll be plenty more on offer tomorrow. Southee’s still plugging away but he’s perhaps not as penetrative as he’d like.
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13th over: Australia 41-1 (Burns 22, Khawaja 7)
More solid stuff from Henry, who is making Burns play and mostly pursuing a stump-to-stump line at a decent old clip. Accordingly it’s a maiden because Burns can never free his arms for attacking strokes.
12th over: Australia 41-1 (Burns 22, Khawaja 7)
Boult looks like he might need a quick rest here, perhaps before one final blast late in the day because there’s 10 overs remaining for the day after this one. His final delivery of the over is one of those ones that passes the batsman and then tails away at right angles to provide a nightmare for the keeper. As ever, it’s not so much as acknowledged in the commentary box but Watling does a power of work to reel it back in. That took some doing.
11th over: Australia 37-1 (Burns 21, Khawaja 4)
Being the commentary genius he is, Ian Smith is gently provoking every cricket-viewing Aussie watching this by suggesting that Steve Smith might consider a nightwatchman after such a “taxing” day of captaincy. As that debate transpires, Burns plays the waiting game before spearing another boundary through mid-on to keep moving. Henry bowled another decent over otherwise.
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10th over: Australia 33-1 (Burns 17, Khawaja 4)
Khawaja’s off the mark in typically dreamy style, turning Boult out to the boundary at deep square leg in the style of a Matador swishing his cape. Usman Khawaja would never fight a bull though, I’m sure. He’d silently tame it with the mere sight of his stroke-making.
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9th over: Australia 29-1 (Burns 17, Khawaja 0)
McCullum opts to give Southee a rest and bring Matt Henry into the attack on his home ground but he’s given a most inhospitable welcome from Burns when the right-hander pummels a short one over cow for four. The rest of the over needs to be and is a lot tidier from the right-arm quick and he’s moving it away just a smidgen.
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8th over: Australia 25-1 (Burns 13, Khawaja 0)
It’s an all-Queensland pairing now with Khawaja out there to partner Burns. The first delivery he gets from Boult moves away nicely but it’s far enough outside the line of off stump that he’s safe to leave it. The follow-up jags in a bit and it’s a little closer but Khawaja is as nonchalant as ever as Boult heads back to the deep to a standing ovation.
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WICKET! Warner c Guptil b Boult 12 (Australia 25-1)
Boult strikes and it’s the dangerous Warner who goes! And this opening day continues to provide thrills. The left-armer perfectly squared Warner up there with a little extra bounce on a tight line and Guptill holds the rising ball smartly at second slip.
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7th over: Australia 24-0 (Warner 12, Burns 12)
Southee’s only pushing 135 km/h here but he’s found a decent line and length to Warner; enough to make him wonder whether he should try and slash one through cover but tight enough that he’ll know the risk and sure enough, the over finishes with an impetuous attempted drive from which the ball flashes past the outside edge. It was a lovely setup by Southee.
6th over: Australia 24-0 (Warner 12, Burns 12)
Burns picks up another boundary when he gets forward to Boult and cracks a square drive through point. There’s no other score from the over but this remains a solid start by the Australians as we edge closer to 400 runs for the day. Not a spectator in the house could have any complaint about the entertainment value here. They’ve witness history too. Tomorrow’s tickets have officially sold out, too. Any wonder.
5th over: Australia 20-0 (Warner 12, Burns 8)
Southee’s better now too and goes within a whisker of consigning Warner to a most embarrassing dismissal when the Aussie leaves one in the channel outside off stump and it tails back in to narrowly pass his off stump. Sheesh that was close. Warner picks up two but there’s no further damage as the Kiwis peg things back a little. They’ve got 17 overs left to make a dent in this imposing Australian batting line-up.
4th over: Australia 18-0 (Warner 10, Burns 8)
This is better stuff from Trent Boult, who is hitting the bat hard, even if the speedo only says 130 kmph. The ball is carrying through to BJ Watling at head height behind the stumps and it’s a maiden. The Kiwis need a bit more of that right now because this Aussie pair can gallop away with the game very quickly if they’re given leeway.
3rd over: Australia 18-0 (Warner 10, Burns 8)
Burns settles a little more here as Southee’s line wavers to the right-hand/left-hand combo. Warner cashes in by creaming another boundary through extra cover with that trademark diagonal-bat drive he likes to whip through that region. This is about as healthy a start as the tourists could hope for against the moving ball.
2nd over: Australia 11-0 (Warner 6, Burns 5)
Boult’s hooping it too, which I guess is to be expected at this point. But Burns looks more than a little nervous while it’s jagging around so drastically and Warner paces down the track for a bit of a chat between deliveries. Burns shuffles across his crease to the third one and appears to hit it twice as he tries to account for the movement but he’s all smiles a ball later when he tucks four down to the rope at fine leg. He’s looking scratchy but the Queenslander is off the mark.
1st over: Australia 6-0 (Warner 6, Burns 0)
Southee moves in for the first delivery of Australia’s innings and it swings in appreciably to Warner, who pushes through cover for two with nothing more than a forward defensive stroke. Then there’s a pleave! Warner plays, then leaves, then plays again and it rolls off the face of the bat and reaches the cordon with one bounce. For all that swing, Warner clobbers a loose one through cover when Southee strays with his line and that’s four on any ground in the world, no matter how you set your field. That’s a bright start for Warner.
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The Kiwi innings comes to a close
And how mad was it? 370 it totalled from 65.4 overs of madcap batting. Brendon McCullum contributed 145 from 79 balls and that raw figure tells you plenty. He’d been given a life earlier when Mitch Marsh pulled off an absolute screamer off gully but the bowler, James Pattinson, was soon shown to have overstepped. From there the Aussies were brutalised by the retiring Black Caps genius.
Corey Anderson’s 72 from 66 was an excellent support role and though we thought things would tail off quickly when Tim Southee holed to make it 273-7, the Kiwis managed almost another hundred thanks to BJ Watling’s McCullum-lite 58, which was full of daring and adventure.
The bowlers? All except Bird went at 5 an over. Hazlewood, Pattinson and Bird claimed 2 wickets each and Nathan Lyon 3 amid all the carnage. He’s on 195 Test wickets now. The big question for the remainder of the day is what kind of inroads Tim Southee and Trent Boult will make into the Aussie top order. Maybe Southee’s batting no-show could be a blessing in disguise. He’ll be raring to go now and there’s plenty of runs on the board for him and his skipper to work with.
New Zealand are all out for 370!
WICKET! Watling c Burns b Bird 58 (New Zealand all out for 370)
Can you believe that? 370 from a touch over 65 overs? Madness. It ends in appropriately manic style when Watling goes inside-out with a big lofted drive and Burns moves around at deep point to hold the catch and help Jackson bird to his second wicket. I need to take a minute to breathe but I’ll be back with some kind of summary of that helter skelter Kiwi innings, which has seen Brendon McCullum obliterate the record for fastest Test century in his final match. What a day of cricket it’s been.
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65th over: New Zealand 363-9 (Watling 54, Boult 11)
Ha, even as Watling is being pinned backwards and goes crashing to the turf after a James Pattinson bouncer he’s trying to take a last-minute swipe at the ball from the limbo position. Pattinson’s breathing fire from his nose, but he also can’t remove him. Just as angry will be Steve Smith, who has watched this final wicket pair put on 37 potentially match-shaping runs here. Not ideal for the Aussies but a boon for the home side.
Watling brings up fifty!
64th over: New Zealand 361-9 (Watling 53, Boult 10)
This has been a stellar cameo from BJ Watling and he gets himself to a 49-ball half-century here with the kind of fortunate inside-edge to fine leg that tends to come off when you’re batting in such enterprising fashion. Jackson Bird is back in this over but he’s faring no better than his mates and Boult also shapes as though he’s trying to hit him into Sunday. Somehow his wild swipe doesn’t result in contact with either willow or stump.
63rd over: New Zealand 350-9 (Watling 42, Boult 10)
James Pattinson gets a late burst now and Watling’s after him, which might have been foreseen. He’s been pumped about all day, Pattinson. How much will Australia live to rue his transgression with McCullum at crease?
62nd over: New Zealand 343-9 (Watling 35, Boult 10)
Trent Boult’s what you’d call a rabbit but starts well this time by slapping Hazlewood for two through gully. Not sure he meant it to go there but it’s in the book. Better still is the back-foot heave he crashes through mid-on for a boundary next up. Absolute filth, which is to say excellent. And another! This time it’s the aerial route in the same direction. He’s 10 from 3 deliveries. Boult finishes the over playing a forward defence with his front foot a good half a metre airborne. Visualise that.
This is already my second favourite innings of the day. #NZvAUS
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) February 20, 2016
WICKET! Wagner c Nevill b Hazlewood 10 (New Zealand 33-9)
Wagner departs! That was an excellent nut from Josh Hazlewood though – he squared the batsman up beautifully and Nevill makes no mistake gloving the thick edge. Another colourful knock comes to an end and the Aussies have just one more wicket to claim before they’ll head out for a bat themselves.
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61st over: New Zealand 332-8 (Watling 34, Wagner 10)
Bang! This glorious, light-hearted and joyful cricket right now, the kind you’d play if you were happily drunk but still retaining your essential motor functions. Wagner goes after Lyon again and mightily whacks him over cow for a big six and then starts looking for more. He doesn’t get any but it’s not for lack of trying. How perfectly is this set up for a late-day collapse by Australia?
60th over: New Zealand 326-8 (Watling 34, Wagner 4)
Watling’s gone the full Brendon now, swaying back in his crease and lifting Hazlewood over the cordon with an attractive flick for four, a blow that segues to more movement down the pitch to the Aussie paceman. Every Kiwi batsman has taken the game on since McCullum got going. Great stuff. Good for Test cricket I reckon. This game might be over early in the final analysis but I bet it’s a fun one. Right as I type that Watling crunches a text book drive down the ground and then lathers a less conventional stroke through extra cover for another boundary. “The cricket being played is craaaaazy” says an almost disturbed Ian Smith. Watling’s really got his mojo working now.
59th over: New Zealand 314-8 (Watling 22, Wagner 4)
Wagner warms to his task further by skipping down the track to Lyon and playing a perfectly batsmanlike lofted drive down the ground for four. That hummed away to the fence and was quite a way to get off the mark. The Aussie spinner is always a chance of a wicket at the moment but he’s being belted about in the process.
An update on the former Aussie skipper:
I'll always remember where I was when Michael Clarke scored 41 for Wests.
— Adam Zwar (@adamzwar) February 20, 2016
58th over: New Zealand 310-8 (Watling 22, Wagner 0)
Ooft, Watling nearly departs in comical style here when a firm defensive stroke into the ground off Hazlewood baloons up off the turf and into the line of his stumps. The Kiwi can’t pick up where its gone and shapes to protect his stumps but it still almost castles him as the ball plops back down near his timber. He has a far better moment a few balls later when he embarks on a McCullum-esque spree and crashes four through extra cover. He launched himself into that one.
57th over: New Zealand 306-8 (Watling 18, Wagner 0)
Wagner actually looks relatively comfortable handling Lyon here, I must say. Watling laps a couple and then gets a single but Wagner has no trouble with the rest of the over.
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56th over: New Zealand 303-8 (Watling 15, Wagner 0)
He’d just bowled the first maiden since the 21st over of this innings but Jackson Bird has been banished from the attack now and replaced by Josh Hazlewood. Watling picks up three more through gully but I think he’s going to run out of partners pretty quickly today.
55th over: New Zealand 300-8 (Watling 12, Wagner 0)
New Zealand pass the 300 mark and BJ Watling also edges past 2oo0 Test runs when he sweeps Lyon for an attractive three to bring Neil Wagner on strike. It’s a great shame that Neville Cardus didn’t live to see his two loves combined here; Wagner and cricket.
WICKET! Henry c Khawaja b Lyon 21 (New Zealand 297-8)
Henry holes out! Well, there was something a little bit predictable about that, even if Usman Khawaja provided some theatre by running in from long-on and juggling the catch around his knees like it was an elusive bar of soap. He holds it in the end and Henry’s entertaining cameo comes to a halt. Lyon’s got another.
54th over: New Zealand 295-7 (Watling 9, Henry 19)
J-Bird’s back on his unerring line and length and getting a bit of bite back off the seam to move it into BJ Watling’s front pad. It’s not exactly dynamic stuff in this over but he’s keeping the batsman honest and ends up with a maiden.
53rd over: New Zealand 295-7 (Watling 9, Henry 19)
Whoosh! Matt Henry gets down on one knee and thumps Lyon up onto the hill with a towering six. That’s a mighty blow from the Kiwi tail-ender. He doesn’t look like he’ll survive long but it’s going to be fun while he does. Right on cue he belts another out to cow to gather himself four bits. Helmets might be necessary in the crowd at this rate.
52nd over: New Zealand 279-7 (Watling 8, Henry 4)
Jackson Bird’s back into the fray now. I understand the critics of his selection ahead of The Chadd, but isn’t it wonderful to see an Australian paceman shaping it across right handers and reviving memories of Terry Alderman. Okay okay, I’ll calm down. I’m just happy to be back in the live-blogging chair. Watling nudges two through the leg side but that’s the only score of a probing over from Bird.
McCullum's 100 took 78 minutes, making it the equal 3rd fastest innings in time, alongside Richie Benaud. #NZvAUS https://t.co/L4i9CjrIzH
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) February 20, 2016
51st over: New Zealand 277-7 (Watling 6, Henry 4)
Matt Henry’s certainly not going to die wondering either and gets straight after Lyon by biffing him out to deep mid-wicket for a pair of twos. It’s a shot per ball right now. Hold on to yer hats.
WICKET! Tim Southee c Hazlewood b Lyon 5 (New Zealand 273-7)
Well, life is not fear. No sooner does play restart and Tim Southee’s slapping Lyon straight to Josh Hazlewood at mid-off. That’s a terrible waste from the second delivery after tea. And more importantly, we’re denied more long sixes from Southee’s thundering blade.
Hello OBOers
Russell Jackson here to take you through this final session of day one at Hagley Oval and you know, I feel a bit flat now. With McCullum and Anderson back in the sheds after their brilliant knocks it’s like I’m the band following Iggy and the Stooges onto the stage. It’s a no-win. C’mon Tim Southee, give me something...
Tea - New Zealand 273-6
What an exhilarating session. I wrote a column on Wisden India after the first Test saying that McCullum had been a Test underperformer against Australia, and that New Zealand needed his gambling style to come off in his last match.
It couldn’t have come off any more spectacularly than recording the fastest hundred in Test history. He only needed 54 balls to get there, while at the other end, Anderson was belting his own 72 from 66 balls. Their surge of scoring was something to be seen.
For one example: Josh Hazlewood’s first 10 overs went for 11 runs. His last four overs went for 57. The fours and sixes flew all around the ground, and on a baking (comparatively) Christchurch day of 29 degrees, the assembled crowd filling the grassy banks called out their love and appreciation of every second.
Unfortunately for them, both batsmen were eventually dismissed in the session, and New Zealand need some real digging in by their wicketkeeper and their tail to try to get their score up around 350 and into competitive zone on a pitch that will likely be better for batting on days two and three.
That’s it for me, Geoff Lemon on the way out, and Russell Jackson will be your dance partner for the final waltz. If I don’t get to commentate his second dig, thanks to Brendon McCullum for keeping me busy.
50th over: New Zealand 273-5 (Watling 6, Southee 5)
Three minutes to tea, but Southee tries to wallop over mid-on anyway, and just clears that man for two. Jackson Bird attacks his pads, and Southee whips behind square for a couple more. Then pulls a single.
Watling decides to occupy the striker’s position for the last couple of balls, and gets them safely to the interval.
49th over: New Zealand 268-5 (Watling 6, Southee 0)
Hello, what’s this? Not enough sixes, say the New Zealand team, so they’ve sent out Tim Southee. He’s already set the record for sixes hit from No9 and No10, so now he’s going to seal it for No8.
Long tail, with Southee in now. Henry has made some runs on ODIs of late. Wagner and Boult the other two.
WICKET! Anderson c Voges b Lyon 72
That’s a shocker, I’m afraid. Not to praise a batsman for attack and condemn him for dismissal, but within minutes of the tea break Anderson is tied down by Lyon for most of an over, then reaches outside his off-stump to try to drag a slog-sweep against a ball that was too wide for it.
Pops up off the top edge, and Voges at cover has time to steady and block the sun out of his eyes with one hand before taking the chance.
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48th over: New Zealand 266-5 (Anderson 72, Watling 4)
Classic Anderson, classic Watling. Jackson Bird the bowler. Anderson drags a slog over cover for three. Watling drives a boundary dead straight, just to the off-side of the pitch.
47th over: New Zealand 259-5 (Anderson 69, Watling 0)
A nice easy ball to keep Anderson ticking over, width and a full toss from Marsh, and Corey Glory Allegory drives it through the covers. Four runs.
Watling takes his time to settle in, even the ball that he edges dropping short of slip because he’s going at it so gently.
46th over: New Zealand 254-5 (Anderson 64, Watling 0)
What a knock from McCullum. To come in at 32-3, which then falls to 74-4, but carry the score along to 253-5 in such quick time.
Of course, Australia could still run through New Zealand for 300 and be happy with their day’s work. Consolidation of that advantage is required from Anderson and now BJ Watling.
Anderson’s single is the only score from the over.
WICKET! McCullum c Lyon b Pattinson 145
Finally, Pattinson gets his man, 106 runs from 49 balls later. McCullum pulls, it’s elevated, and Lyon gauges the drop well as he runs in from backward square leg and tumbles forward for the take.
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45th over: New Zealand 253-4 (McCullum 145, Anderson 63)
A quiet, civilised Test match over there. McCullum cuts a single. Anderson plays and misses, then readjusts and glides the next for one. Brendon ticks one to fine leg, Corey mis-hits a drive, then steers two more runs to backward point.
Marsh would be well pleased with five from the over.
44th over: New Zealand 248-4 (McCullum 143, Anderson 60)
Corey Anderson’s batting reminds me of one line from our cultural canon.
“Imagine a fighter jet... made of BICEPS.”
He bangs the... cut? Drive? Who knows? Through the covers. Four runs.
A leg bye brings McCullum on strike, and James Pattinson nearly gets him in the gully once more, a big edge that escapes the hand. Then another cut in the air, and again it falls short of the field.
The Buddha glows and hums.
43rd over: New Zealand 238-4 (McCullum 138, Anderson 56)
McCullum has rubbed the Golden Buddha on its belly before today’s innings, that’s for sure. A couple of runs, as his top-edged cut shot nearly carries to Lyon coming in from deep point.
Down the pitch again, McCullum, and lifts Marsh on the pull shot for six more. It seems excessive to even use exclamations now. He’s hit half a dozen of them, and 19 fours.
Make that 20 fours, as he cuts another short ball, this time thinking of Lyon at backward square, and so playing the ball in front of him to the rope.
The fastest 150 is 103 balls, says Simon Wallace on White Line Wireless. McCullum is 138 off 74.
42nd over: New Zealand 226-4 (McCullum 126, Anderson 56)
He’s like a budget airline, McCullum, he’s charging everything. Pattinson the bowler now, the man who had McCullum caught from a no-ball on 39. The batsman slices two runs to the leg-side.
Then goes back, pulling the next behind square for four!
A single gives Anderson strike. He drags a pull over mid-on for two. Then the left-hander, ball angling across him, tries to pull from outside off stump and slices it to the off-side. Hazlewood should have stopped it at mid-off but went the wrong way.
41st over: New Zealand 213-4 (McCullum 119, Anderson 50)
Mitch Marsh back with the ball, and Anderson raises his fifty from 39 balls with a couple of runs driven down the ground. That would have all the attention another day, but today it’s the supporting hand. The sheet anchor. The innings of the stable middle-order lynchpin.
Writes Robert Wilson on the email tube, “You know all those times you fruitlessly stay up an extra couple of hours to watch a dumb cricket match on the other side of the planet dwindle away in fruitless non-event? You know those times? Well, they were all, in the end, worth it.”
Could not agree more.
40th over: New Zealand 210-4 (McCullum 118, Anderson 48)
Hazlewood is being taken apart. Full enough, on middle stump, and McCullum gets right underneath that to lift it for six more. Waaaaay over deep midwicket, into the crowd on the hill. That makes five of those for him.
The batsmen trade singles with a couple of straight pushes, the field back there, but not at midwicket where McCullum gets a big top edge that rolls for four. Gets a single just to keep all his scoring categories covered.
This is truly thrilling stuff. Plenty of risks, but they’re coming off. I’m plugged into radio commentary at White Line Wireless and the (mostly Australian) callers are beside themselves with enthusiasm.
39th over: New Zealand 197-4 (McCullum 106, Anderson 47)
McCullum wants a rest, he tucks a single first ball from Lyon. Anderson carries on his tradition, clumping his fourth six of the day, against straight down the ground. They look good when they come off, those shots.
Goes back on his stumps to finish the over, gets the ball short enough and cuts it for four! Anderson has looked miserable his last few innings, but has looked so good today.
38th over: New Zealand 186-4 (McCullum 105, Anderson 37)
Hazlewood a little flat, as McCullum pulls a limp bouncer for four. The batsmen will also need to be careful not to play a limp shot after the rush of McCullum’s milestone.
37th over: New Zealand 181-4 (McCullum 100, Anderson 37)
Anderson playing Stop Stop Go with Nathan Lyon. Defends one, walks down to crash a six down the ground, then defends the rest of the over.
CENTURY! McCullum 100 (54 balls - fastest in Test history)
36th over: New Zealand 175-4 (McCullum 100, Anderson 31)
McCullum is on for the fastest Test century ever here.
Misbah and Viv Richards currently share it with 56 balls.
He has 82 from 48 as this over starts.
Misses the first ball, hooking. The second ball goes over his head, Hazlewood can get that bounce.
But next time he tries it McCullum hooks off the top edge for six! Then goes back on his stumps and pummels the fuller ball over mid-on for four!
92 off 52 now. The next ball isn’t that short but he pulls anyway. Another top edge, he is riding his luck like a horse down the final straight. Three balls for the record.
He only needs one! Regulation delivery, and he has done so many times today, McCullum lifts this over the covers for four! An even century from 54 balls, counterattacking in the most intense possible style. He’s pulled it off. I’ve never used so many exclamation marks in one post, but on this rare occasion I think they’re warranted.
35th over: New Zealand 157-4 (McCullum 82, Anderson 31)
Sniffer Smith tries to change the pace with Nathan Lyon’s spin. Anderson watches the first four carefully, before lifting the fifth over the bowler for four.
34th over: New Zealand 153-4 (McCullum 82, Anderson 27)
Hazlewood: back. Anderson: whack.
Climbs into Rogan Josh’s very first ball and wallops the drive over long-on for six.
Anderson’s next shot is defensive, which draws a shocked “Oooh” from the crowd. Ball squirts away for a single.
Hazlewood, yorker. McCullum, backs away, swings down through the line, hard into the ground, bouncing past the bowler and stumps and tumbling away to just beat the chasers for four.
“You chasin’, mate? You chasin’?” Fruitless.
Length ball next up, there’s still a gap at cover, and McCullum punches right through it! Boundary! Not so much a drive, more a bash through the line after giving himself space.
Next ball mis-hit away to leg, two runs, then Hazlewood tries to follow Bird by lobbing a bouncer over the batsman, but McCullum top-edges the hook for four.
That over went for 21 runs. I can’t keep up. I need a breather. And a herbal tea. And a cuddle.
33rd over: New Zealand 132-4 (McCullum 68, Anderson 20)
Australia can’t stop, they can’t stop the rock. Certainly not the one that McCullum charges and slays through cover for four.
Bird goes shorter to prevent this, BM stays at home and cuts over cover for four more!
Oh, this is fun stuff. Cricket, life, and joy. Bird is reduced to bowling bouncers over McCullum’s head to find a couple of dot balls. The one time he does go full, McCullum tries to hit over midwicket and instead skews over gully.
The last three overs? 10, 10 and 14.
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32nd over: New Zealand 122-4 (McCullum 58, Anderson 20)
Here’s what you wonder with Anderson: will he get carried away trying to mimic his captain? He starts the Pattinson over with a sensible push down the ground for two, then carries it on with a less sensible pull shot down the ground for four!
Adrenaline flowing. Corey Andrenalineson? Lovely straight drive, four more! Pattinson around the wicket but the left-hander is loving the line.
31st over: New Zealand 112-4 (McCullum 58, Anderson 10)
An exercise in contrasts. Bird: wins the contest, beats McCullum with a beauty that whispers past his outside edge.
McCullum: wins the contest, charging a length ball and forehanding it over long-on for six! That raises his fifty, in his farewell Test, with wickets down on a greentop, from 34 balls.
What even is he.
Down the pitch again, slashing at a wider ball, getting more edge than middle but still flogging it through cover for four.
Then again, not so reckless this time, the more conventional square cut and this time it beats Giraffe Marsh in the gully and hits the fence. Fourten from the over for the imminent retiree.
30th over: New Zealand 98-4 (McCullum 44, Anderson 10)
McCullum’s defensive shots are all used up. He charges Pattinson, Australia’s fastest bowler, several steps down the pitch, gets mostly inside edge, drags it to the on-side and can’t score. Then swings and misses.
Then: caught! Brilliantly at gully! But it’s a no-ball!
A fierce cut shot, got every piece of it, but Marsh got his giraffe frame off the ground and flung out one ever-lengthening arm like a piece of well-cooked fettucine. Somehow the ball stuck. Marsh jumped up pumping elbows and knees, that would be close to the best catch he’s ever taken.
But the umpires check on the replay, and... Pattinson’s heel has landed on the line, not behind.
So McCullum hooks his next ball for four! Through the fumbling Josh Hazlewood at deep backward square, and the crowd here goes absolutely Peter Siddle’s favourite food.
Then he decides to calmly finish the over by edging a single wide of Stickyfingers Smith at second slip. What of it?
29th over: New Zealand 92-4 (McCullum 39, Anderson 10)
Marsh may have got Kane W, but Brendon McCullum isn’t scared of him. Defends one, then slashes a square cut that is well saved, conceding a single off a no-ball.
McCullum now has 22 runs from 8 balls against Marsh.
Anderson wants a similar rate, as he lifts a pull shot off the top edge for six! Maybe that can get him going. It does, as he goes again with a better timed pull along the ground for four.
Marsh 1-37 from 4 overs, with one maiden. Perplexerating.
28th over: New Zealand 80-4 (McCullum 38, Anderson 0)
Poor Corey Anderson. He was batting while I was on commentary last Test, and it didn’t go well for him. I’d love to say something nice, but he’s been in awful touch lately. It’s McCullum on strike for now though.
Pattinson is the other bowler to open this session. Also, Geoff Lemon with you in the OBO chair. Hello! Where in the world are you, all you Carmen Sandiegos? I’m in Christchurch itself, sweating like a steam-bath sumo on the Hagley Hill in glorious (but potent) sunshine.
McCullum goes circumspect against Pattinson with the wicket falling. Some fierce and fast stuff. Aside from a bunted single from the last ball, the main contribution to the score comes from a Patto bouncer that clears the new Zealand captain for five wides.
27th over: New Zealand 74-4 (McCullum 37, Anderson 0)
A wicket maiden to kick off the session, the key man Williamson gone, and his run from three ODIs and two Tests against Australia on home soil currently reads 0, 60, 18, 16, 22 and 7.
WICKET! Williamson c Smith b Marsh 7
If you were wondering who was ahead at lunch, Australia streak to the lead five balls after the resumption. It’s Marsh again with the vital wicket, something he has made a habit of, and it’s Smith again with an absolute screamer.
Williamson digs out a yorker, unluckily it skews from the edge, which flies between Warner at a short slip position and Smith at a conventional second slip. Warner dived in front of Smith, obscuring his view but not getting the ball. Smith flung out his right hand and somehow plucked the ball an inch from the turf.
Several umpire replays only serve to give us more looks at that miracle catch, and the umpires deem it clean.
Lunch - New Zealand 74-3
So who wins that session? After sending the Black Caps in and having both openers in the shed, the Australians may’ve fancied more than just the three at the break. It certainly looked that way for a time with Kane Williamson under enormous pressure and the Australian quicks at their penetrative best.
But enter McCullum. Sure, he only has 37 to his name at the break (from 18 balls) but it’s interventions like this that can change games when allowed to run too long. Despite Williamson’s stoic resistence, punctuated by softly guiding edge after edge into the cordon through the course of his 64 balls, the skipper’s innings will likely determine whether the host’s total ends up competitive or otherwise.
James Pattinson’s first shift back after missing a couple with injury was highly impressive, earning Guptill’s wicket twice to short leg, while Hazlewood continued from where he left off in the second innings at Wellington. When he’s in this sort of form Siddle’s absence is felt far less.
Jackson Bird bowled his best spell since returning to the side, an early top order wicket will put a smile on his face at the lunch break. He’ll owe Steve Smith a beer after the miraculous diving catch to earn him the scalp of Nicholls; make sure you catch it on the highlights.
It’s a wonderful sight that I leave you with: Hagley Park covered with people having a look at the pitch or playing games of cricket through the break. For now, I’ll hand the baton to Geoff Lemon for the afternoon session, which starts in about 25 minutes from now. Thanks for your company.
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26th over: New Zealand 74-3 (Williamson 8, McCullum 37)
Wisely (to begin, at least) McCullum is satisfied with a single. It’s a quick one, a shy at Williamson’s stumps, but you sense the right guy is on strike for the final stretch to lunch. Of course, an edge into the cordon comes next, of course, it doesn’t carry. He’s a freak, this bloke.
A single into the legside leaves McCullum one ball to negotiate before a sandwich. He takes a lavish flay at it outside the off stump and is beaten. That would have been an ugly way go to. But he survives; the cameo will extend to the middle session.
As the players walk from the field, I best gather my thoughts before signing off. A lot happened in those 26 overs.
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25th over: New Zealand 72-3 (Williamson 7, McCullum 36)
It says a bit that even Williamson is getting in on the act now. Albeit modestly, but after his stay so far, consecutive twos into the deep look positively trail-blazing. Marsh gets back into the over in a good sign for the all rounder. First be beats Williamson and thumps into his thigh pad, then he earned his leading edge. But you won’t be shocked to hear that it didn’t go close to carrying.
One over to lunch. What will McCullum do?
24th over: New Zealand 68-3 (Williamson 3, McCullum 36)
Before the game, McCullum said when in doubt he had ordered his team to return to the principle of taking the aggressive of two options. Coming in with the side in ruins, this is exactly what McCullum is doing.
Pattinson was superb earlier, but this is a different proposition. Four over gully when giving a fraction of width. Next ball: thumped back at him, but he can’t complete the (rather ambitious) return catch. Then, clobbered over mid-wicket via a proper McCullum slog.
Ten more from the over and this game is changing by the minute. No one wants this to stop, but just get to lunch, skip. Just get to lunch.
23rd over: New Zealand 58-3 (Williamson 3, McCullum 26)
Baz says: one more time with feeling.
Mitch Marsh into the attack from the members end and the NZ skipper likes the sound of that. Now, remember that Marsh picked him up twice in the ODI series and then again in Wellington. But what of it?
BOOM - over the bowlers head. SIX.
THRASH - with a delightful - conventional almost - cut over gully. Four.
CRACK - over extra cover, fizzing into the advertising boards. Four more.
WALLOP - the best of the lot, inside out over the extra cover rope just because he can.
21 from the over. That’ll be the NZ 50! McCullum to 26 in ten balls, and along the way his 101st and 102nd career six, passing Adam Gilchrist’s even-100. Glorious.
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22nd over: New Zealand 37-3 (Williamson 3, McCullum 5)
There’s a fly slip in for McCullum and he hits to him as if to prove that he can. That means we’re back to Hazlewood and Williamson. And he’s done it again: edging into the cordon only for it not to carry. But here’s the thing: the slip is one of the silly, zany variety, David Warner under the lid considerably further forward than the usual gripper. And it still doesn’t make it to him.
Kane Williamson’s ability to take pressure off the bat handle as the ball glances the edge should be taught in schools. Or not, if you’re a fast bowler who likes to see edges carry on, you know, morning one.
21th over: New Zealand 36-3 (Williamson 3, McCullum 4)
Bird returns to type from the city end, no runs available for Williamson, no run-scoring shots attempted. He knows the drill. Work and work and work. Then wait.
There has only been one Test played at Hagley Park before today, the Boxing Day match of 2014 when NZ hosted Sri Lanka. This is what Baz did that day: 195 from 134 balls. As you do; a few metres away from picking up the quickest double ton in the history of the game by about three overs.
20th over: New Zealand 36-3 (Williamson 3, McCullum 4)
They’re great moments, retiring champions receiving the guard of honour from the opposing skipper; Brendon McCullum a worthy recipient here. His side are in all sorts, let’s be honest. Another couple of wickets before lunch and it’s looking a carbon copy of last week.
But McCullum does what McCullum does, taking an almighty swipe at Hazlewood second ball in an attempt to put him on the moon. He succeeds in getting an edge at least, high over the cordon for four of the best.
If he’s assessed that there’ll be a ball with his number on it here and swings from the get go, this could be anything.
WICKET! Nicholls lbw Hazlewood 7
After looking so good, Nicholls gets beaten as Hazlewood finds an extra yard, crashing into his back kneeroll. DRS is utilised, but it is umpires call with the top of off stump assessed as the ball’s final destination.
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19th over: New Zealand 32-2 (Williamson 3, Nicholls 7)
Bird again allows Nicholls to get down the other end, as if it’s to plan, which gives them another chance at Williamson. The skipper Smith has snuffled David Warner up to a very close third slip to off-set The Hands of Kane (I’ll do the screenplay, ok?). Bird keeps swinging it away. Attritional stuff.
18th over: New Zealand 31-2 (Williamson 3, Nicholls 6)
Nicholls gets off strike to the first Hazlewood ball easily enough, leaving Williamson interrogated once again. He’s not comfortable. An inside edge, a whack to the thick pad, and another outside edge (with those supple hands coming to the rescue yet again). It’s weirdly enjoyable watching one of the best players in the world having to struggle through like this.
I hope Kane Williamson goes on to make a ton. He's copping a barrage of good deliveries at the moment on a seaming pitch. Tough work.
— Matt Nicholls (@mattnicholls29) February 19, 2016
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17th over: New Zealand 30-2 (Williamson 3, Nicholls 5)
Another eventful over. I’m not surprised to see Nicholls immediately on the advance. He’s impressive. A delicate cut from a Bird short ball behind point to the rope shows ample poise; just the second boundary of the day. Bird tries to straighten up, allowing the same batsman to work off the hip. Good batting.
Williamson meanwhile finally gets something to drive, adding a his second and third runs from his 34th ball. It’s been hard graft for him out there, the Australian quicks relentless. But he’s lucky to survive the final ball - an edge, but those soft Williamson hands means it doesn’t carry. If cricket doesn’t work out he could go into the massage business. Bird probing just as much as his more fancied colleagues this morning.
16th over: New Zealand 23-2 (Williamson 1, Nicholls 0)
So close to another breakthrough for Australia, Hazlewood striking Williamson after he left it go. It never looks good for the batsman in that situation, but mercifully for him umpire Rich Kettleborough could see the ball just clearing the bails.
A triple breakthrough inside the first 70 minutes would constitute a disaster for the home side and in keeping with awful first hours they had at Brisbane, Wellington and even the World Cup Final. Can they hold on?
“Does Guptil exemplify the dark side of the McCullum captaincy?” Mike Mnichowicz asks, adding: “BMac’s style isn’t for all positions. In test match football, the props have to stop swanning out wide and just hit the rucks for 80 minutes.”
I’m from Melbourne and didn’t go to private school so the rugby reference is beyond me, but I’ll take him on faith.
15th over: New Zealand 23-2 (Williamson 1, Nicholls 0)
Bird completes the wicket maiden. Replays of this Smith catch show that he actually started moving the other way before correcting himself, diving off balance, and executing the play perfectly. Given it would have landed safely in Adam Voges guts at first slip, he had very little margin for error.
Latham should be annoyed with that. He didn’t produce the drives today that we got used to in Australia, but he did all the leaving that you need to do in first hours like that... only to give it up four balls after the breather.
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WICKET! Latham c Smith b Bird 4
Oh what! Steve Smith has pulled out a gem. Diving in front of Voges at first slip he stuck out a mit, almost in slow motion, and it stuck. It was a full delivery from Bird in the first over after drinks, Latham drove but got the low edge. He walks off slowly.
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14th over: New Zealand 23-1 (Latham 4, Williamson 1)
Hazlewood continues the grind, Williamson the one content to wait and see this time. There’s an appeal for leg before, but not a huge one, but he got it really motoring back towards Kane’s pad.
Have a drink, fellas. Or, have a play, DJ. When I grow up I want to be a DJ at a NZ Test venue. They’re given so much latitude.
If they are reading along, DJs, give these guys a go? A local band that have fallen off the radar a bit, but I still hugely fancy them: Cut Off Your Hands. You could say I’m Still Fond of them...
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13th over: New Zealand 23-1 (Latham 4, Williamson 1)
Some news from the press box. Shaun Marsh is going home to join a Sheffield Shield game on the morning of day three. Glenn Maxwell (be still, my beating heart) is joining the team as a specialist fielder. Like!
On the field, another over of Bird and Latham flirting with each other outside the off stump for the most part. It’s kinda cute. They should get a drink sometime.
Want to talk to me? Call now. On twitter @collinsdam or the old fashioned way at adam.collins.freelance@theguardian.com.
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12th over: New Zealand 23-1 (Latham 4, Williamson 1)
Hazlewood is swung around to the city end and immediately on the money, Williamson leaving a ball that hits the seam and takes off, passing just beneath his arm pit. The Australian fielders are making plenty of noise, sensing how well their quicks have bowled in this first hour.
Australia and New Zealand’s women are also playing today, their first ODI of a three game series somewhere on the north island with a rather nice sounding name that I’ll look up shortly. In any case, the hosts are batting.
Bates and Satterthwaite building a nice partnership now, 1-59 after 12 overs: https://t.co/5LOkMa1Yt3 #WFvAUS
— Southern Stars (@SouthernStars) February 19, 2016
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11th over: New Zealand 23-1 (Latham 4, Williamson 1)
Generous applause from the crowd, who are sprawled across the banks and keenly engaged, when Williamson knocks the final ball of this Bird over into the onside for his first run; just the second since the Guptill dismissal five overs ago.
No complaints about this start from Bird. He’s decidedly slower in pace than Pattinson, but at 195cm generates enough bounce to trouble the Kiwi stud on one occasion, and gets the ball to shape away with him on another. A huge day in the context of his career.
10th over: New Zealand 22-1 (Latham 4, Williamson 0)
Could it be this track is a bit two paced? From Pattinson’s end, they’re still humming, notably a bouncer to Latham that flies just by the grill. He plays the foot-outside-off game for most of the over, both content to bore the other one out. Fair to conclude that Tom Latham has more patience than his namesake Mark. Another maiden is the result.
Robert Wilson longs for a match from the old school after watching some action from the new overnight:
“After the meh-fest of the Saf-Eng hit ‘n giggle today, I’m definitively done with 20 over piffle. It was final proof today that it matters little how good any player or team might be, the form is so curtailed that most results are absolutely random. So I’m agog with anticipation for this game. Let’s hope it’s a grimly protracted draw with a couple of restful stops for rain, a few seven-hour fifties and at least one nervous breakdown. I’m sad about Siddle but I’m looking for some Soviet-era seriousness from the rest of them.”
9th over: New Zealand 22-1 (Latham 4, Williamson 0)
Jackson Bird has been demoted to first change, but I wonder whether that’s exactly what he would have liked? Especially coming on when the pressure has been expertly applied by Hazlewood (who he replaces) and Pattinson.
Oh and he nearly makes it work immediately, a Latham leading edge just passing by his hand in the follow through! That would have been a debacle for the hosts after just losing Guptill. Alas, he turns the strike over for the only run of the over.
Phil Withall has dropped us a line on anthems and Adams:
“In defence of Tony Adams, and there’s some words I never thought I’d write, that was during his hard drinking days. It could well be that he didn’t know where he was or why he was there.”
That’s what I call sound logic.
8th over: New Zealand 21-1 (Latham 3, Williamson 0)
Another LBW shout turned down from Pattinson, where the newcomer Williamson is saved from having for his pad outside the line. When Pattinson is flinging them down like this you remember very quickly why he is close to an automatic selection when fit. Hopefully he has some gas in the tank because watching him run into Williamson before he’s set could make for some pulsating cricket.
7th over: New Zealand 21-1 (Latham 3, Williamson 0)
Hazlewood amends his line ever so slightly to the left-handed Latham, making him place three consecutive deliveries for the first time today. It’s a decent early battle. Latham was dogged in last week’s second dig before giving it away to Nathan Lyon for no apparent reason. He’s looked all summer like he’d find a big score at some stage against the Australians. He’s investing in that at the moment. Hazlewood’s maiden would bother him little. Keep going, young man.
6th over: New Zealand 21-1 (Latham 3, Williamson 0)
The aforementioned Pattinson wicket was the final ball of another probing over. Latham was doing it tough but managed to get off strike, a sound move with Pattinson in this nick. The Guptill demise seemed inevitable, he never looked comfortable when facing the Victorian.
5th over: New Zealand 20-0 (Guptill 18, Latham 2)
As the wicket fell it blunted (read, I clumsily deleted) an entire post I had about the previous over about Hazlewood’s relentless line and length and beating Guptill all ends up. It’s okay, the happy ending wasn’t far off.
WICKET! Guptill c Burns b Pattinson 3
Where Burns was copping dirty looks an five minutes ago, he won’t anymore after making no mistake when Pattinson earned another Guptill inside edge. A much harder chance, he had to dive forward - never easy as a short leg - and take the catch at near full stretch. Guptill’s eventful stay comes to an end and Pattinson appropriately is the first into the book. Australia are away at Hagley Oval.
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4th over: New Zealand 20-0 (Guptill 18, Latham 2)
I don’t think Bill Lawry would mind me saying that it’s all happening in that over.
The scene is Pattinson to Guptill. First ball dropped chance by Burns at short leg after an inside edge went into the flap of his pad and ballooned just above the Australia’s hands. Should have been taken. Burns looks under more pressure than he should be for a man with two tons this summer. That’ll grate everyone involved.
Fired up, Pattinson earned Marty G’s edge, but the hands were soft enough to guide it down untroubled. Saddling up again: he bent his back and cut him in half the other way; superb fast bowling. An infield bunt past mid on (albeit one in the air) got him out of strife at last, three picked up leaving Latham to negotiate the final two balls.
Test. Match. Cricket.
3rd over: New Zealand 13-0 (Guptill 11, Latham 2)
Hazlewood on point here, very happy to let Latham leave all but one of his second set, the Kiwi opener getting the remainder away off his toes to open his account with a couple into the legside.
2nd over: New Zealand 11-0 (Guptill 11, Latham 0)
Huge shout first ball, Pattinson striking Guptill and on first impression it looked fairly adjacent from our vantage point, but maybe an inside edge and probably too high with the benefit of the TV replay.
No matter though: a sweet off-drive follows next ball for the first boundary of the fixture.
A ropier delivery more in keeping with the traditional loosener comes later in the over, short and wide. Guptill converts to the point boundary despite the best efforts of a diving Nathan Lyon.
Back to anthems real quick, I spend a lot of time on youtube spooling for these (no, really?) and this is my favourite from Euro 96. Best bit: Tony Adams not having a clue what the words are.
1st over: New Zealand 1-0 (Guptill 1, Latham 0)
Josh Hazlewood from the Port Hills End. He was outstanding in similar circumstances last week, but doesn’t have Peter Siddle riding shotgun this time around.
He’s into his groove early today, balls carrying through at a lovely height to Nevill. They rolled the hell out of the track yesterday, so this isn’t surprising.
Guptill gets off the mark with a push into the offside before Latham enacts a Russell Jackson favourite: a ‘pleave’ (play/leave) into the cordon. A gentle start for all involved.
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A belated hello from me, Adam Collins on the tools after an episode with my web browser. Thanks Geoff for getting the ball rolling.
What a toss to win. I was out there before and the smile on the Aussie captain’s face when the coin came down his way was hard to disguise. As was McCullum’s, albeit the sort of smile you give out the moment before belting someone.
To our right, the sides are walking out with their flags. It’s anthem time.
The capacity Hagley Park crowd (all 8000 tickets sold for the first two days) really belt out God Defend New Zealand. As you would, right? What a tune. Can’t be many better.
Shall we settle in and chat a bit? adam.collins.freelance@theguardian.com or @collinsadam on the tweeter.
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Australia win the toss and bowl
Morning all, apologies for the late start, a few technical issues here from the temporary media centre at the largely temporary Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Geoff Lemon joining you, ready to hand over to Adam Collins momentarily once the electronic gods grant us their favour.
New Zealand has left out off-spinner Mark Craig for the left-arm quick Neil Wagner, and Doug Bracewell is injured with big-hitting speedster Matt Henry coming in.
Australia’s change is the injured Peter Siddle out, James Pattinson in, Jackson Bird retains his spot, and Chadd Sayers is left counting the unnecessary letters in his name from the visitors’ viewing area.
Adam will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s the latest on the Australian and Kiwi line-ups:
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