da aviator aposta： Australia’s bowling find of the summer, Brett Lee, picked up his secondfive-wicket bag in just five tests as New Zealand followed their familiarpattern of early collapse, mid order recovery and late disintegration on thefirst day of the third test
da dobrowin： Chris Rosie31-Mar-2000Australia’s bowling find of the summer, Brett Lee, picked up his secondfive-wicket bag in just five tests as New Zealand followed their familiarpattern of early collapse, mid order recovery and late disintegration on thefirst day of the third test at Hamilton.New Zealand were all out for 232 after being 53 for 4 at one stage.Australia finished the day on 4 for the loss of one wicket. Craig McMillanled the afternoon resurrection while Shayne O’Connor got the obligatory lateAustralian wicket.Steve Waugh won the toss and sent New Zealand in to bat on a pitch thatlooked well-prepared for a five-day match. New Zealand left Bruce Martin,the left-arm spin replacement for Daniel Vettori, out of their playing XI.They included the Northern Districts pace bowler Daryl Tuffey for his firsttest, playing it on his home ground.Australia made one change to their winning side, replacing an out-of-formGreg Blewett with Matthew Hayden.The besieged New Zealand openers managed to get satisfying bat-on-ball earlywith four slips, two gullies and a short leg hovered expectantly as GlennMcGrath and Lee opened the attack on a beautiful Hamilton day. Australiathought it had become even more sunny in Lee’s first over whenthey celebrated at length an apparent caught-behind against Craig Spearmanonly to find the visiting Indian umpire, AV Jayapakash, in disagreement.Spearman rubbed it in next ball with the first four of the morning throughthe vacant point position.Spearman started to show a liking for Lee outside off, twice crashing him tothe extra-cover boundary. However, in the ninth over, the fragile openingpartnership yet again disintegrated, a very good ball from McGrath takingthe edge of Spearman’s crease-bound defence and going through to AdamGilchrist. Spearman gone for 12 with the score at 22 and another shakyperformer in Mathew Sinclair on his way to the wicket.Sinclair started comfortably enough but Horne continued to look out ofsorts, McGrath beating his defence four times in one over without managingto get a touch. At the other end Lee looked less effective, his 23 runs offfive overs prompting his replacement by Shane Warne at the city end in the12th over.At the end of the first hour, New Zealand were 39 for 1.Warne continued after the drinks break, getting interesting turn. But it wasat the other end that the second of the New Zealanders departed, a deservingMcGrath getting Horne on 12 caught behind, although replays suggestedfortuitously.Captain Stephen Fleming joined Sinclair and, like Horne before him, foundMcGrath sliding past his defensive bat. However, the pair brought up the 50in the 18th over, courtesy of a fluent cover drive from Sinclair offMcGrath.Lee took over at the grandstand end from McGrath, whose nine-over spell cost19 runs and included the scalps of both openers. The change broughtimmediate profit. Sinclair flailed and Warne at first slip had catchingpractice. Sinclair had improved on his recent contributions, going for 19,but the New Zealand early score had taken on a familiar appearance.It got worse. Two balls later with no addition to the 53 on the board,Nathan Astle got a ball high on the pads and was given leg before by the NewZealand umpire, Steve Dunn. Lee, as in Wellington, had two wickets in oneover to leave New Zealand yet again playing catch-up cricket from the firstsession.Craig McMillan joined his captain, survived a confident bat-pad demand fromWarne before cutting the spinner past a diving close third man for four.Colin Miller, in his off-spin mode, took over from Warne in the 25th over,the leg-spinner’s first six of the test going for 16.The New Zealand pair safely negotiated the rest of the session, going tolunch at 73 for 4, Fleming on 13, McMillan on 5.McGrath, from the grandstand end, and Warne took over from Lee and Millerafter lunch. Fleming and McMillan took just three runs off their first sixovers, the frustrations showing when a quick single could have turnedsuicidal if McGrath, following up, had scored a direct hit.That miss proved expensive in the context of the innings when McMillan tookthree fours off the over, two solid drives through extra cover and mid off,the third from a thick edge bouncing past third slip.However, McGrath was still getting life from the pitch, giving Fleming inparticular some uncomfortable moments. Despite his attentions, New Zealandbrought up the 100 in the 37th over, taking 225 minutes. An over later theyhad a 50 run partnership.Lee relieved his pace colleague in the 39th over. McMillan welcomed him witha straight drive. At the other end, Miller took over from Warne, this timein his medium-pace mode.The New Zealanders took the score through to 120 at the afternoon drinksbreak through a combination of watchfulness coupled with the occasionalflowing stroke.Fleming had his moments immediately after the break, Lee catching the edgeonly to have it drop just short of third slip and go away for four and thenhaving what appeared a justifiably confident leg-before appeal turned downby Umpire Dunne.However, Lee did not have long to wait for his recompense. Another confidentleg-before appeal in the next over brought the required response from MrDunne, the New Zealand captain on his way for 30 in the 45th over with thescore at 131.Chris Cairns joined his Canterbury team-mate and immediately turned Lee awayforward of square leg for four to open his scoring. McMillan, who had playedwith admirable control throughout his innings, brought up his 50 in the 46thover in 108 minutes off 84 balls and including nine fours.Waugh turned to Damien Martyn to replace Lee in the 49th over. With Milleroperating from the city end of the ground, both medium pacers, whenaccurate, managed to get enough movement off the pitch to trouble thebatsmen. Martyn, with a very wide one outside off, extracted what in thisinnings was an uncharacteristic loose shot from McMillan.A dearth of runs as the bowlers concentrated on a line outside off wasbroken in the 52nd over, a leg-bye four bringing up the New Zealand 150.Miller turned to his off spin and Martyn had a confident leg-before appealagainst Cairns turned down before the pair took New Zealand through to teaat 158 for 5, McMillan not out 54, Cairns 13.While Martyn continued after tea, McGrath opened his third spell from thecity end. The pace man gained immediate life, collecting Cairns on thehelmet, to which the new Zealand all-rounder responded by driving straightback past the bowler’s out-stretched arm for four.The break may have had an effect on McMillan’s concentration, a pull for twoover mid-wicket and a flailing cut for four off a very wide Martyn deliverybearing little comparison with the controlled shots of the middle session.However, powerfully driven consecutive fours off McGrath suggested he wasback in touch, the second bring up the 50 partnership.Lee returned for his fourth spell, replacing Martyn in the 63rd over of theday. At the other end, McGrath produced a barrage of short-pitched balls atCairns, earning himself a bouncer no ball for overdoing it.Lee was the man to suffer as Cairns reacted, drives in the V bringing fourfours, one of them all run courtesy of an overthrow. Lee’s second over ofthe spell went for 17 as the score passed 200 in 278 minutes off 398 balls.However, it was Lee who broke the partnership. McMillan’s recovery ofcontrol had been an illusion. In the 67th over, he wafted wildly outside offand Gilchrist completed his demise. McMillan’s departure for 79 with thescore at 208 brought an end to a 77-run partnership. The wicket was Lee’sfourth of the innings.The arrival of Adam Parore coincided with the return of Warne to the cityend, replacing McGrath, and he and Lee applied a stranglehold on thebatting, just four runs coming from six overs. Finally, Cairns, on 37,attempted to break the grip with a heave outside off, only to see the ballcarry to Martyn diving forward to take the catch at deep backward point.The wicket was Lee’s fifth, his second five-wicket bag in just five tests.Paul Wiseman joined Parore with the score at 212. They took the scorethrough to 224, with the New Zealand spinner contributing 1 before Warne gotone past his attempted sweep.As a baptism in test cricket, Daryl Tuffey had Warne and Lee to contendwith. He got his first run off the spinner. He also saw Lee depart after anine-over spell that had conceded 22 and included the key wickets ofMcMillan and Cairns. But that only meant he had to face McGrath, to whom heduly succumbed when on 3 in the 81st over, his defensive shot sufficientonly to get the edge to Gilchrist.Shayne O’Connor joined Parore, the last pair coming together with the scoreat 227. McGrath took the new ball in the 83rd over and it never had a chanceto lose its shine. Its second delivery had O’Connor flicking down the legside, getting the touch for Gilchrist to do the rest.New Zealand ended at 232, Parore not out 12 with extras totalling 27, 13 ofthem no balls.The speedsters got among the wickets. Lee ended with five for 77 off 23overs, McGrath four for 58 off 21.The Australia openers, Michael Slater and the recalled Matthew Hayden, cameout with five overs to face before the end of the day’s play. Cairns, fromthe grandstand end, and the left-arm O’Connor opened the attack. Both weregetting sufficient life to require evasive action, Slater in particularlooking uncomfortable.However, it was Hayden who failed to last the distance, O’Connor getting oneto move away from the left-hander, take the edge and Parore to accept thecatch. Warne came in as nightwatchman and he and Slater saw Australiathrough to the end of the day’s play, but not without further trauma,Cairns failing to get a confident leg-before decision from Umpire Dunne.Australia will start the second day on 4 for 1 with the New Zealand bowlersgetting the sort of life needed to keep the team in the match.
