The first test match of the much anticipated Trans-Tasman Trophy began excitingly as Matt Henry wreaked havoc in the Australian batting lineup to reduce the Aussies to 89-4 after taking out both the openers. Fellow seamers Will O’Rourke and Scott Kuggeleijn in their second test, chipped in with two wickets each to make it harder for the Aussies.
Australian openers Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith managed to survive for the first 90 minutes after Tim Southee put them to bat on a green pitch. The visitors after losing their openers after a sluggish 61-run partnership, suffered a dramatic collapse of 4-28.
However, a counterattacking partnership between Green and Marsh helped Australia recover and gave themselves something to celebrate at tea. Marsh departed after a well-made 67-run partnership with Green. After him, there was only one recognised batsman in the form of wicketkeeper Alex Carey who couldn’t do much with the tail.
Green, on the other hand, continued to counter-attack and was the lone warrior for Australia. He managed to score an unbeaten century and stay till stumps, which meant Australia ended the day with 279/9 and Matt Henry ended with the figures of 4-43.
However, at the end of Day 1, New Zealand had a slightly upper hand over Australia as an intriguing Day 2 awaits.
