While New Zealand eased their way to 47-0 after a slow and steady start, a lot of things happened quickly. Josh Hazlewood (5-31) removed four of the top five Black Caps either side of lunch to send the team reeling at 107 for the home side in a spiralling eight-wicket loss. A useful contribution was made by some aggressive innings of Tim Southee and Matt Henry. New Zealand’s embarrassment of 55 was saved but 162 on a good wicket in the first innings was a poor performance.
But the Saudi people again united in time. Smart, sharp bowling from Matt Henry led the way. He took the important wickets of Head (21), Khawaja (16), Green (25), while Ben Sears started things off by dismissing debutant Steve Smith for 11. This left Australia reeling at 124-4, but only 39 runs were left which will generate more leads tomorrow. They have Marnus Nathan Lyon (1 not out) and Labuschagne (45 not out) ready to do so tomorrow.
Look forward to the match report is coming soon and stay tuned tomorrow for our coverage, where Rob Smith and Martin Pagan will guide you in the action. over and out!
Australia 124-4 (36th over)
Lovely shot by Labuschagne. Trapped for four! Sears tried to scare him but it had the opposite effect. Marnus took a single from the second. To survive this, Nightwatchman Lyon receives four Sears deliveries. Lyon is undoubtedly talented; he made 41 runs in the most recent Test and batted in the top seven 17 times. In the end, the Black Caps came in with one short leg but Lyon let the first two go, batted back the third and dropped the last delivery at the end of the day. That first day is over!
Australia 119-4 (35th over)
With less than 10 minutes left in the day, Labuschagne decided to seek medical attention for a thumb injury. However, he knows what he is doing and hurries to umpire Marais Erasmus. However, he cannot delay Henry’s inevitable over and ends up smashing the very first ball to slip to the boundary. Almost does the same again on the third but Glenn Phillips dives into the lane to stop it. Due to this the goat runs a run to survive and gets three deliveries. Lyon unceremoniously swings for a run on the first ball he faces and Labuschagne does the same on the last ball. Very easy. Where was Lyon and the pressure to expose Marnus on strike?
Australia 112-4 (34th over)
Once again wickets have fallen in spades in this series. The deaths of 14 heads in one day lead to dismissals! And the day is not over yet. Labuschagne closed shop by blocking the first two balls of Sears, but Fuller could not resist the third ball, driving it smartly down the ground for a boundary. Will Marnus trust Nathan Lyon to see through Matt Henry’s full overs? While he manages to score from the last to keep a single strike, he is unable to score from the fifth.
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