Cricket: A contender for catch of the year ruined Marnus Labuschagne's chances at a test tonne while on 90 runs.
Alex Carey’s ‘freebie’ raises awkward question as tail rescues Australia yet again: Christchurch Test, Day 2 Talking PointsMarch 9th, 2024 5:22 pman enthralling second day of the Trans-Tasman Trophy TestThe Kiwis did well to bowl Australia out for 256 after they started the day at 4-124, particularly as Nathan Lyon and Marnus Labuschagne had the upper hand early.
“What a great couple of days. We have seen plenty of wickets, plenty of runs ... and I think we can appreciate hard Test cricket and that is what we have seen over the last couple of sessions,” Fox Cricket expert Brendon Julian said. That contribution effectively put the opening Test beyond the reach of New Zealand and allowed Australia to secure the trans-Tasman Trophy once again.
“It was another good knock by Nathan Lyon, frustrating the New Zealanders in the first half-hour of play.”Lyon, who received three lives from New Zealand in his innings, was not the only Australian tailender to make a decent contribution either. Not that the champion Australian attack have had it their own way, with the Kiwi tail also able to make handy contributions of 43, 47 and 55 in the series prior to the second innings on Saturday.Matt Henry has been a revelation with the bat in this series, scoring 85 runs of the Kiwis tally of 537 overall leading into the second innings in Christchurch at an average of just under 29.
It is the second best performance overall by a New Zealander against Australia and topped only by the stunning 9-57 Sir Richard Hadlee took at the Gabba in 1985. Henry also secured a five wicket haul in Australia’s first innings in Wellington and followed that effort with three in the second dig to take his tally for the series to 15.Amid another disappointing batting performance from the Australians, there was one shining light.
Ahead of the Christchurch Test, there were question marks around Labuschagne’s spot in the Test side, with the 29-year-old’s batting average slipping under 50 for the first time since 2019. Despite narrowly missing out on a 12th Test century, Labuschagne managed to silence the sceptics on Saturday.Steve Smith, Travis Head and Alex Carey threw their wickets away with rash shots, but Labuschagne refused to budge as carnage unfolded at the other end.
However, the Australian No. 3 lost his patience on what was ultimately the final delivery of the morning session, slicing a wide delivery from rival captain Tim Southee towards gully, where Glenn Phillips held onto a superb one-handed catch.Alex Carey failed to muffle speculation about his future in the Test side following a soft dismissal and a sloppy dropped catch in Christchurch on Saturday.
Since last year’s Lord’s Ashes Test in England, Carey has averaged 20.70 with the bat, registering two fifties in eleven matches. During that period, he was dropped from the national one-day team for West Australian gloveman Josh Inglis, who won a World Cup title in India. Having erased a first innings deficit of 94 in partnership with Kiwi opener Tom Latham, Williamson reached his half-century for the first time in the trans-Tasman Trophy Series.
The champion bowler has endured a relatively lean series by his lofty standards, in part because his fellow bowlers have enjoyed an outstanding tour of the Shaky Isles. “It just was not full enough and when you are looking to force that, it brings the inside edge into play,” he said.
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