Australia has won the Trans-Tasman with a display of cricketing acumen that left the Kiwis floundering in their own backyard at the Basin Reserve.
The victory, marked by a margin of 172 runs, not only underscored Australia’s dominance but also heralded Cameron Green’s arrival as a force to be reckoned with.
1. Nice One Garry
Gladesville’s Nathan Lyon has spun a web that would have made a spider take notes.Lyon bamboozled the Black Caps into submission, skittling them out for a paltry 196. At 36 years old, he pranced to his 24th five-for and also racked up match figures of 10 for 108, a rare feat that had the statisticians scrambling.
2. Khawaja Making Records
Another over 35 who is making records is Usman Khawaja, who has dazzled the masses during what can only be described as a golden era for the national squad.Khawaja with the resilience of an old oak and the patience of a saint, has elegantly waltzed into the history books as only the second Aussie, post the grand age of 35, to amass a princely sum exceeding 2,500 runs in the Test arena.
His latest innings, a masterclass in patience, saw him craft 33 runs from 118 balls in Wellington, as if to say, “Haste? Never heard of her.”
3. What’s Happened to Marnus?
Marnus Labuschagne found himself snared down the leg side for a paltry two, continuing a saga of misfortune.This latest escapade ensured his batting average took a nosedive below 50, a feat not seen for the first time since what feels like the age when dinosaurs roamed, or at least over four years.
The Queenslander, now seemingly with a subscription to getting caught in the slips, has tallied up scores 10, 1*, 3, and 5 during last month’s Frank-Worrell Trophy campaign against the West Indies.
This drop from a once lofty average of 60.82 to a more earthbound 50.20 is a tragedy. Over his last 35 Test innings, Labuschagne has averaged 32.50, with a solitary century to his name—not the stuff of nightmares, but for a batsman once hailed as the world’s No. 1 Test batter, it’s akin to a fall from grace.
4. It’s Not Easy Being Green (Or Is It?)
Perth’s Green and Hunters Hill’s Josh Hazlewood pieced together a last-wicket stand so improbable it seemed lifted from fiction.Their 116-run partnership bewildered the Kiwis and turned despair into an art form. Amidst this chaos, Green emerged as the unlikeliest of heroes, wielding his bat like a knight’s sword to carve out a defiant century.
5. History Remains Firmly on Australia’s Side
For over 31 years, the New Zealand cricket team has struggled to secure a victory against Australia on their home turf, with their last win dating back to 1993 at Eden Park, thanks to Danny Morrison’s remarkable 6 for 37 performance that led to a series-tying victory.Despite an eight-year gap since Australia’s last Test series in New Zealand, highlighted by Brendon McCullum’s record-breaking century in just 54 balls, Australia has continued to dominate, with New Zealand only managing one win in the last 31 Trans-Tasman Tests—a solitary victory at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval in 2011.
6. Cricketing Fans Baying for More
Only two tests?The notion has left fans and players alike in a state of lamentation, akin to attending a banquet and being served only the appetiser.
Among the chorus of voices clamouring for a more satisfying feast is none other than Lyon, the spinner who dabbles in the sensible suggestion of a minimum three-course ... ahem, Test series.
The crux of the matter? A calendar so crammed it would send even the most seasoned event planner into a tailspin, and the thorny issue of Test cricket’s commercial viability—or the lack thereof.
Greg Barclay, former New Zealand Cricket chair turned ICC chair, has indicated that hosting a Test match in NZ is akin to setting fire to a pile of $50,000 notes. The plot thickens, the characters fret, and the audience waits with bated breath and a salivating mouth.
