Kiwis fight but Australia in control

McCullum, who two years ago saved the Black Caps from a similarly desolate Test match scenario by scoring his nation’s first (and thus far only) triple century, was given out lbw to Mitchell Marsh from what turned out to be the final delivery of day three.

With 10 runs and an unsuccessful review – which upheld umpire Richard Kettleborough’s adjudication that the ball was going to hit leg stump – against his name in his final Test at the ground with which he will be forever linked.

Although, in his twilight appearances, a similar-sized rescue mission was always going to be beyond the combative captain.

Having ceded Australia a 379-run first innings lead, a position of surplus from which no team in almost 140 years has lost a Test, the chances of the Black Caps finding a way to win this match would seem negligible.

But now that responsibility will wrest with Test debutant Henry Nicholls (31no), all-rounder Corey Anderson (highest Test score 116) and wicketkeeper B J Watling (who was involved in an epic game-changing partnership at the Basin with Williamson a year ago).

And the specialist bowlers who follow them.

The game effectively slipped from the already loosened grasp of the home team in the opening hour of the third day when Adam Voges marched on to his second double-century in four Tests, and he was able to add a further 31 runs – and considerably more pain – with specialist bowler Peter Siddle.

That partnership took care of any hopes the Black Caps held of wrapping up Australia’s innings in a hurry and limiting their lead to sub-300.

Not only did Voges find valuable support from Siddle (49), but other card-carrying tailenders Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird hung about for a combined stay of more than an hour that carried Australia to the brink of lunch.

On a pitch that has flattened to the point that the Wellington ground is more of a dinner plate than a Basin, but with the occasional delivery holding up on the pitch which explained the record-equalling four caught and bowled dismissals in Australia’s innings of 562, the battle for NZ loomed as more mental than technical.

Having seen the batsman who should have been dismissed for seven late on the first day, but was reprieved by an umpiring howler and kept batting for a further five and a half hours and 232 runs, the size of the climb confronting them when they got underway this afternoon was daunting. 

Even for a nation known for its love of a challenge and defying popular perception.

The questions over Martin Guptill’s suitability were again raised when the all-or-nothing opener decided his ODI mode of attack was the best approach to a Test salvage job and he holed out for 45 off 55 balls.

In fairness, it took a special catch to hand Australia a breakthrough after an hour of toil as Mitchell Marsh showed the benefits of the additional fielding drills the Australians undertook prior to this Test by expertly judging and holding a skied chance coming over his shoulder as he circled back from extra cover.

But the wicket that Australia most keenly sought was a further hour and more away and, when it landed, the look of quiet exultation on Josh Hazlewood’s face when he had Kane Williamson caught behind for 22 told its own story. 

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It was Williamson who, in concert with Watling, batted his team to an historic win against Sri Lanka when they posted a hefty 5(dec)-542 in the second innings against Sri Lanka at the Basin last year.

When the pair fashioned a then record, unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 365 - in which the Black Caps skipper-in-waiting made 242 – he showed his fondness for the Wellington pitch as well as a temperament to fight his team back from unenviable positions.

But the Australians stuck to their tried-and-true plans against one of the world’s top-ranked batsmen, drying up his scoring options with a parsimonious off-stump attack that eventually yielded results after Willamson had played and missed several times to earlier deliveries from Hazlewood.

The wicket of stubborn opener Tom Latham (63 from 164 balls) in the final hour when he – like his opening partner Guptill – went too hard at Lyon and lofted a catch to the in-field, left the heavy lifting over the next two days squarely with McCullum, Watling and Test rookie Nicholls. 

The only blemish of another otherwise flawless day from the Australians as they close in on the world’s number-one Test ranking – which is theirs if they can claim a series victory in New Zealand – was the catch that ‘keeper Peter Nevill missed off Latham when the opener was 30.

In normal circumstances, it would have been deemed a tough chance, tailing across the left-hander and dying on its way through to Nevill who was forced to lung low in front of first slip.

But in light of his exceptional one-handed grab to get rid of Williamson on day one, the ‘keeper has set the bar so high that any fumble, regardless of the circumstances from which it derives, is viewed with raised eyebrows.

The other concerns of a day that would be rated more clinical than brutal was the back spasm that forced Siddle from the field and the bowling crease during the final session, although he is expected to be fit to resume tomorrow morning.

And the news of a 5.7 magnitude earthquake in the still-recovering city of Christchurch on NZ’s neighbouring South Island, where the second Test will be played starting next Saturday.

While reports of damage to the city were being assessed late today, a spokesperson for the Australia team said Cricket Australia would continue to liaise with New Zealand Cricket officials on the ground in Christchurch and be guided by the expert advice provided.

But at this stage, the tour will continue as planned.