Saturday, November 14, 2015

Australia 2/412 (Warner 244*) crush NZ: T2 D1


Australia 2/416 (90ov, Warner 244*/272 b/ 2x6 22x4, Khawaja 121/186b/2x6 11x4, Burns 40) v New Zealand: T2/3 D1/5 at WACA, Perth. Toss: Australia.

On a very good batting wicket on a hot Perth day, David Warner played the innings of his cricketing life (so far) to propel Australia to a dominant position and leave New Zealand's attack once again defanged and the series almost certainly lost.

If you are able, watch video highlights of Warner's innings.

Usman Khawaja, pugnacious against a wilting attack, and Joe Burns, in another century opening stand, did their bit too, as, unfortunately, did the umpiring. 

The Black Caps were ill served by a howler by umpire Llong, who failed to detect an edge to the keeper by Khawaja when there were no review shots left in the NZ locker.  One reason for this was the closeness of at least one DRS decision which relied on Hawkeye to confirm by a whisker an "umpire's call". Why a team which is narrowly deprived of a favourable decision should lose a DRS review seems grossly unfair, as other commentators have pointed out. In this instance the would have hit the wicket, though a fraction more than 50% would have missed it. 

That said, even if that decision, and Llong's blunder, had gone NZ's way the day would almost certainly have belonged to Australia, if more along the lines of 3 or 4/350. In either the real or the alternative scenario there is no doubting who has the upper hand. 

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