Australia v New Zealand: first Test, day three – as it happened

14 Dec 201907.36 EST

Adam Collins

Australia lead by 417 runs overnight. Of course, that’s more than enough by any meaningful historical measure - indeed, the highest target chased in the fourth innings to win is 418. But it doesn’t mean the Black Caps are giving up, or anything close to it. By fighting back in the final hour they have something else to take to Melbourne on Boxing Day, regardless of how this ultimately finishes. Righto, that’s enough for me today. Enjoy your Saturday. Talk tomorrow!

57th over: Australia 167-6 (Wade 8, Cummins 1) Wagner misses his yorker and Wade takes advantage, clipping four runs. The short ball is where it is at though, Wade hit again on the body, this time his back. It spills away for a leg bye, the opponents sharing a playful glance. Cummins’ turn, and he’s beaten outside the off stump before getting off the mark with a push off his hip. Phew. Wade again, two balls to go... inside edge just short of the catcher at bat pad. So close. At last, to the final delivery of the day and it is defended. Well played, Matthew Wade. “Let’s move on,” says Umpire Llong as stumps are called, the pair having another word. Nothing wrong with that. What a fantastic final hour, five wickets falling in a hurry.

56th over: Australia 161-6 (Wade 4, Cummins 0) Cummins knows how to tough out a difficult shift - we’ve seen him do it plenty over his career so far. Too often, really. Southee is giving it his all from around the wicket - bouncers and yorkers. His opposing number finds a way to get safely to the finish line. One over to go.

55th over: Australia 160-6 (Wade 4, Cummins 0) Whoa, a waist-high full toss to start from Wagner to Wade. ‘Sorry mate,’ ala Pat Rafter in the follow through. It’s the only time he’s forced to use his bat in the over, happy - and quite correct - to leave everything else alone.

54th over: Australia 160-6 (Wade 4, Cummins 0) Ooooh, he’s not far away from bowling Cummins aound his legs before scoring too. A lot of pundits wrote Southee off when he wasn’t much of a fixture in the World Cup but he’s very much back in business here. He completes the wicket maiden, his figures 4/62 making eight now for the match.

Southee bowls the captain second ball! It’s a beauty from around the wicket, pitching off-stump and darting back through the gate. What an hour this has been for New Zealand. Australia have now lost 5/29.

53rd over: Australia 160-5 (Wade 4, Paine 0) Wagner keeps it going, hitting Wade on the body with a bouncer that deceives the number five. There’s a lot going on here - a knuckle ball that drops at just the right time, Wade getting down to it just in time. Back to Plan A, he’s hit a second time in the over, this time on the arm. Compelling stuff.

Kerry O’Keeffe makes an excellent point on TV: play more hours of pink-ball Tests after dark. This is starting at 1pm, which is too early for mine. These games come to life after the lights go on. Perth is a tough sell on this front due to the time difference, but in Adelaide/Brisbane, push them back to 3pm? It’s at least worth a look.

17,104 is the attendance. So, every day of this Test has had fewer people than the first three days of the most recent fixture played over at the WACA. But yes, I know that’s not how the world works.

Another wicket to the short ball! Far from menacing, he might even have taken the pace off it. It didn’t get up but Head was committed to his stroke, helping the ball on the angle to the catcher on the 45. Australia are leading by 410 but they have lost 4/29.

52nd over: Australia 160-5 (Wade 4)

51st over: Australia 155-4 (Wade 4, Head 1) Head is off the mark second ball, putting Wade back in the hot seat and he’s copping another accurate bouncer, deflecting off his shoulder into the gloves of Watling. The third time we’ve seen that today. Another entertaining session to end the night, as it was on days one and two.

Smith out again to the short ball! Wagner could not have telegraphed his intentions any more clearly so the former captain had a pop, but miscued the pull straight to the man at square leg. Well, then.

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50th over: Australia 154-3 (Smith 16, Wade 4) Wade has waited and ducked in response to a barrage of short stuff to begin but he is comfortable enough to take on Southee this time around, off the mark with a forceful pull shot to the boundary.

49th over: Australia 149-3 (Smith 15, Wade 0) Wagner not far away at all from removing Smith with another ball that bites, jumping off the inside edge, just past the catcher at forward short leg. Sure enough, Wade cops two bouncers from Wagner as a welcoming gift.

“Hi Adam.” Hi Peter Leybourne, hitting me up on the tweet. “Thinking about Steve Smith’s last night catch reminded of the better one that Phil Simmons took at the SCG in mid 90s ODI Aus vs Windies. Caught Slater square drive. Australia won - Michael Bevan hitting the final ball to long on.”

The best bit about this is how you are essentially remembering NYD 1996 for Simmons’ catch rather than Bevan’s innings. I hope that Big Phil did his wicket-celebration fist pumps after the snaffle. Until my career was cut short (I’ll be back), it was how I greeted each scalp.

48th over: Australia 148-3 (Smith 14, Wade 0) Southee bumps Wade to begin, left-hander ducking. This plays out again two balls later but the ball keeps so low that it only just clears the stumps ala McGrath vs Tendulkar 20 summers ago. This is what we mean when discussing Test pitches, wanting them to change in their complexion as the five days evolve. Well bowled. Wicket maiden.

Southee from around the wicket gets one to bite at Burns, who plays with both feet off the ground into the hands of Nicholls at gully. He takes a sharp, low catch. The Black Caps aren’t for giving up.

47th over: Australia 148-2 (Burns 53, Smith 14) Oooh here we go, here we go, here we here we go. I should have predicted this: Steve Smith’s crosscourt forehand, which was only ever see from him in Test cricket when Australia are piling on third innings declaration runs. He doesn’t nail it this time but you can bet he will soon.

Are people still seriously insisting that Australia declare tonight? I understand why former players on TV say it - they want to play golf. Fair enough. But why we do, as fans, urge the very early finish?

46th over: Australia 147-2 (Burns 52, Smith 14) Big lbw shout from Southee for Smith. But coming around the wicket, it’s pitched outside leg and NZ don’t have any reviews. More interestingly: it kept quite low. By contrast, the next one has spat at his hand. They’ve pitched in very similar parts of the track. Smith whips the glove off to make sure his right index finger is still in tact, and it is. Smith being Smith, he hits the next ball for four, getting into position early to help Southee’s bouncer on its way to the long leg rope.

“Can’t help you out with the innings I’m afraid,” Peter Salmon replies. “Went to most of those matches. But I’m pretty sure it wasn’t part of any innings that was otherwise memorable. A cameo 43 sort of knock. In fact even cameo makes it sound grander than it is in my memory. I imagine it as a Boon or a Steve Waugh getting maybe 116, and Mark just dropping by for a partnership of 70, either side of lunch.”

In that case, I’ll take 1994. His 70-odd on Christmas Eve, which was day one of that Ashes Test, with the 25th a rest day. How quirky.

45th over: Australia 142-2 (Burns 52, Smith 10) I just can’t see Smith taking Wagner’s short one on again. If he did, and it got him out for the second time in this match, it’d become a thing. Nah.

“Someone just needs to channel Mark Greatbatch and bat for two days,” writes Grant Marjoribanks. Oooh, I like this. “Except when he did it in Perth 30 years ago NZ were following on. And he didn’t have to bat for two day/nights. Even Paddy would have have struggled if he’d had to face Merv Hughes with a pink ball under lights.”

Let’s have a look at the Great Man in the cordon against Australia. As it happens, given the topic of the previous over, snaffling ME Waugh.

44th over: Australia 140-2 (Burns 51, Smith 9) Southee’s turn as Williamson continues to shake up his attack. Smith is watching, watching, watching then driving through cover for four. He’s said he doesn’t like the pink ball when it goes soft, but no such concerns here. And he goes again to finish, straight down the ground with more power, crashing into the boundary. Absolutely hammered.

“Hi Adam.” Peter Salmon! Hello. “Anyway, back to Mark Waugh. One of the great things about live sport is those moments you were there for and no one else knows about. Sometime in the 1990s at the MCG, smallish crowd, play meandering along, I saw Mark Waugh play the greatest shot I have ever seen. He unfurled – the dictionary should have a picture of it under ‘unfurl’ a cover drive so sublime that here I am 25 years later thinking about it, dreaming about it. I swear it hit the square boundary at the ‘G two seconds later and bounced back 30 metres. Everyone around me gasped and looked at each other in disbelief. Waugh, obviously, just wandered down the pitch, gave it a tap, and got ready for the next ball. The greatest piece of ephemeral art ever.”

I now really want to work out the innings. It can’t have been the ton against the West Indies in 1992-93, which was all about the shots he played over third man - much to the Windies’ annoyance. Maybe 1999 against India when he was on the cusp of losing his place? I remember that as an especially lovely half century.

43rd over: Australia 132-2 (Burns 51, Smith 1) Leg slip straight in there for Smith, Wagner immediately attacking that line to him from over the wicket. Of course, he picked him up in the leg trap the first time around from around the wicket, caught at short fine. In turn, he’s off the mark clipping off the pads to midwicket for one.

The drinks break - and the bouncer - does it! Wagner had Labuschagne miscuing his pull shot within moments of walking to the crease, only for him to be put down. Not this time with Santner’s safe hands at midwicket. Marnus’ run of tons comes to an end.

42nd over: Australia 131-1 (Burns 51, Labuschagne 50) He can’t be stopped! Certainly not by Santner, who isn’t causing them any trouble early in this new spell. Marnus reaches the mark with a push to cover from his 79th delivery. Surely they give him the chance to now push on for fourth tons on the trot. Burns, too. DRINKS!

41st over: Australia 128-1 (Burns 50, Labuschagne 48) Wagner as he does best, all short balls and cutters in an effort to create a mistake from nothing. He pulled that off a few times in the first innings. To be fair, across the over he’s called for two wides - bouncers that fly too high. But, to a point, that’s the price of doing business like this.

40th over: Australia 125-1 (Burns 50, Labuschagne 47) We’re driiiiiiifting. Labuschagne picks three off from the first over of Santner’s new spell. 24 overs left, which they won’t get in with 87 minutes left on the clock - including the extra half an hour.

Out of a healthy twitter exchange about umpires hitting the deck, this is on top of the podium. From the famous 1966 Grand Final.

39th over: Australia 122-1 (Burns 50, Labuschagne 44) The Composer is back with his left arm short-and-awkward. Labuschagne gives the strike to Burns early in the over but he isn’t tempted with the field spread out ready for any miscued pull or hook. The lead is now 372.

38th over: Australia 121-1 (Burns 50, Labuschagne 43) Yes, Joe. Is there more public goodwill towards any Australia player than there is Joe Burns? He brings up his half-century with a push to cover, one of five runs worked around the field off Southee in the over. He’s faced 102 balls to raise his bat, striking six boundaries. Double it up!

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37th over: Australia 116-1 (Burns 49, Labuschagne 39) Two more singles off CDG but the crowd and television coverage are mostly interested in the conventional beer snake. But security are having nothing of it, confiscating the cups. For a country priding itself on a knockabout disposition, we’re obsessed with silly stuff like that.

36th over: Australia 114-1 (Burns 46, Labuschagne 38) A good five minutes taken out of the game with that delay, which will help New Zealand’s top order, who surely won’t want to bat tonight. Besides, a declaration would deny Marnus the chance for four Test tons in a row. Give us that, Tim. There are properly full in the crowd at Casino Stadium, now making a beer-carrier snake of sorts.

Umpire down! Umpire Aleem Dar has copped a whack to the knee from Mitch Santner and we have a delay as a result. Tim Southee was picking up and throwing after racing to a ball at cover, which meant that Dar was getting out of the way at the danger end. But Santner was running to take the stumps and the accidental collision occured. Knee on knee contact saw the man in white hit the deck. The magic spray comes out, followed by strapping. I think he’s going to be okay.

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35th over: Australia 111-1 (Burns 46, Labuschagne 37) de Grandhomme is continuing to do his bit, onlt giving up a couple to Labuschagne when he’s a tad too straight. Otherwise, spot on.

34th over: Australia 109-1 (Burns 46, Labuschagne 35) Southee replaces Santner but he runs keep coming, Labuschagne carving away over the cordon for four - no issues there. Burns is in on it as well, taking a couple in that third man direction before finishing with a cover drive for two more, where there is now a sweeper in place. Australia have gone at a run a ball for the last five overs. I know we dismissed it before tea, but, is this the behaviour of a team that might declare tonight? As Mark Waugh calculates, if they make 80 in the next 20 overs, that leaves eight overs tonight at the Black Caps with a 440-run lead. That might be tempting. If they get them all in.

33rd over: Australia 100-1 (Burns 42, Labuschagne 30) de Grandhomme gets through a quiet maiden to Burns.

“Morning/Evening Adam.” Morning where I am at Guardian Towers, Brian Withington. Great to hear from you. “Where better than the OBO to find solace after a soul destroying UK general election? (I won’t mention turkeys voting for Christmas in case an animal rights activist quite reasonably points out that’s libelling turkeys.) Moving on, given how ominously good Aus are looking already, English cricket clearly needs to work on some disingenuous three word slogans before next Ashes. Channeling the genius of ‘Take Back Control’ and ‘Get Brexit Done’, how about ‘Take Wickets Cheaply’ and ‘Get More Runs’?”

It might be all you have. As you say, they’re getting very good again.

32nd over: Australia 100-1 (Burns 42, Labuschagne 30) Shot! 1000 runs in 2019 brought up by Labuschagne, going inside-out over cover to start Santner’s new over. A lovely way to get to that milestone, averaging 72 along the way. And he’s far from done yet. The 50 partnership is also now raised. Burns moves into the 40s with a further boundary, chopping hard with the spin into the turf, running away to the third man rope. The Australian 100 is up as well. The tweaker is under the pump, going at five an over.

31st over: Australia 90-1 (Burns 37, Labuschagne 25) de Grandhomme offers up a couple of rare sundries this time around, a wide down the legside to Labuschagne then overstepping in at Burns. The runs keep coming when the former deflects three through the relatively vacant cordon. It has loosened up a bit since the tea break, making the most this chance to pile on runs.

30th over: Australia 83-1 (Burns 36, Labuschagne 22) Santner is more dangerous when the ball isn’t spinning right now, those the deliveries that are asking questions from this right-handed pair When there’s turn, they’re finding enough time to pick off runs.

For those in the Tom Banton Fan Club (me): the TV coverage reports that the Somerset batsman hit 104 not out in Brisbane club cricket day... off 35 balls. He’s playing for the Heat in the Big Bash soon.

29th over: Australia 79-1 (Burns 35, Labuschagne 19) de Grandhomme continues his pre-Tea spell. Burns pushes a single to cover then Labuschagne deals with the rest. No rush.

Some big, quick and timely runs for Erin Burns in Australia ‘A’ colours ahead of the T20 World Cup in February/March next year.

28th over: Australia 78-1 (Burns 34, Labuschagne 19) Three singles in four balls after the break. Ian Smith, on commentary, observes that Santner has been quite effective at holding an end up but needs to start bowling teams out. He nearly skittles Labuschagne with the last ball here, skidding on from around the wicket. Well kept out.

Just read during the break that New Zealand’s finest Olympian, Peter Snell, died overnight at age 80.

The players are back on the field. Santner to Burns. PLAY!

OB Jato has sent me his team of the year. You can too, of course.

Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Mayank Agarwal, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes, BJ Wattling (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Pat Cummins, Jofra Archer, and Neil Wagner (12th man: Jack Leach, because Jack Leach).

“I’ve stuck to regular positions for all players, which means a few great perofrmers like Kohli might have missed out. Thoughts?”

Well, you can’t leave Virat or people are going to get very angry with you. And besides, he’s definitely there. You’re being provacative. Fair play. I also had Jadeja in mine, for what it’s worth. And Wagner.