key events
Game 37: Australia 128-4 (Labuschagne 49, Lyon 1) Henry knew Labuschagne wanted to walk down and through and tried to roll him with his legs. Labuschagne is good enough to drive it through square leg at speed.
An eventful first round ended with Jaffa snapping from the seam to beat the outside edge.
Labuschagne is not out yet! Scratch that, he has crossed the line and It is more than three meters away from the wicket. New Zealand has lost their reviews – they only have one left – I need new glasses.
Wait, this looks like…
Comments from New Zealand LBW master Labuschagne! I think he was just outside the line because he was walking down the track towards Henry. But it’s close.
Ding Aling Aling Sir Richard’s brother Dale Hadley rang the bell to start the game. Matt Henry has the ball.
“I’ve been a convert of Labuschagne ever since I saw him on the Grade Cricketer podcast,” Lawrence Boyd writes. “It wasn’t until then that I really appreciated his personality.”
He’s a weird nerd isn’t he? I ask this question with envy to avoid being misunderstood.
Matt Henry too
It was a good wicket. This is my home court, so you won’t hear any bad words. It does tend to flatten out into a good surface. [Josh Hazlewood] The delivery was beautiful and he didn’t go looking for wickets. It was just a very clean bowling game. That’s what pressure does in Test cricket, right? If you do it from both ends, someone will reap the rewards.
It’s a fine line.if you go looking for [for a magic delivery] You can get hurt with boundaries here because it’s a fast outfield and a real surface. You need to be patient and let the stumps do their thing, but don’t overdo it.
This is the important first hour. The key is to operate for the players at the other end – I know it’s a cliche, but against a strong team like Australia you have to be patient.
Josh Hazlewood speaks before game
The ball was moving well both ways at lunch and I was in good rhythm. The wicket felt a little soft and slow for the first hour, but then it got baked by the sun. The speed seemed to pick up and we were able to get those gaps.
Anything behind it will get stuck on the pitch and sit up, so push the ball a little further and let the wicket do the work.
Preface
Hello and good morning everyone, and welcome to live coverage of the second and probably penultimate day of the second Test between New Zealand and Australia. Next week will mark the 30th anniversary of Ken Rutherford’s clinical victory over Allan Border’s Australia in Auckland. That match was the last time Australia lost a Test or failed to win a series in New Zealand.
Thirty years! That’s a dizzying statistic that still holds true in the 21st century, and you don’t need Carel Struycken to tell you that it appears to be happening again. Australia performed better on day one with Josh Hazlewood bowling brilliantly to defeat New Zealand for 162 runs. If they can beat the first spell of Matt Henry who bowled beautifully last night, they should be in the box seats.
Australia will be 38 runs behind at 124 for four, with Marnus Labuschagne hitting 45 and Nathan Lyon 1. A return to similar form for Labuschagne would be very welcome but batsmen New Zealand’s real concern in this situation is the next man, Mitchell Marsh. His two hours of brilliant batting The game could end their run.
