NZ vs AUS | Flamboyant Green ton nullifies Henry onslaught in green Wellington on riveting Day 1

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Australia survived a four-pronged Kiwi seam attack on the opening day of the Trans-Tasman series despite a middle-order collapse to end on 279/9. Cameron Green scored a sensational ton in a coming-of-age knock on a treacherous green deck in Wellington even as Matt Henry ran rampant with four scalps.

‌Brief score: AUS 279/9 (Green 103*, Marsh 40; Henry 20-7-43-4)

The relatively new opening pair of Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja found themselves up against the odds after being put in to bat first on a pacer's haven but the former's idiosyncratic technique coupled with the latter's resilience ensured the visitors nearly got through the first two hours unscathed with a 61-run opening stand. The opening blow was eventually delivered by Matt Henry right at the stroke of Lunch after Smith nicked behind for 31 with Tom Blundell taking an exceptional catch in front of first slip. Soon after, Scott Kuggeleijn made it a double whammy on the other side of the break by ending Marnus Labuschagne's 27-ball struggle for a solitary run.

Henry thereafter knuckled down the change in momentum with a dream inswinger to castle Usman Khawaja for 33 and William O'Rourke got the better of Travis Head in the ensuing over to suddenly leave the visitors reeling at 89/4. However, with the deck seemingly getting more lethal by the minute through a fatal combination of extra bounce and seam movement, the stage was perfectly set for a trademark Mitchell Marsh counterattack. The all-rounder smoked six fours and a maximum in a 39-ball blitzkrieg of 40 to take Australia through to Tea at 147/4 and by the time he top-edged a Henry delivery, the 67-run partnership had done its damage.

Nevertheless, the Black Caps were given a respite when Alex Carey threw away his wicket by chipping a drive straight to catching cover. Cameron Green thereon took the onus to shepherd the tail along against a fired-up pace attack and seemed to sensationally come of age in his new role as a number four batter, eventually bringing up his second Test ton with three boundaries on the final over of the day despite battling a sore arm.

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