The visitors may be out of contention to regain the Trans-Tasman trophy in this series, but by reflecting on their mistakes in Brisbane and Perth, they have the chance to set themselves up for a genuine tilt at victory on home shores next year
Daniel Brettig at the WACA14-Nov-2015Before this Test, Brendon McCullum admitted it was possible that even with improvement, New Zealand may still be beaten by a dominant Australia at the WACA Ground. Typically candid and clear-headed, this observation grew in resonance throughout day two: both the tourists’ best day of the series to date, and more or less irrelevant to the result of the match and series.Irrespective of an unforgiving pitch, in Spartan weather conditions, New Zealand were awful on day one. Their bowlers were shaken far too easily from their moorings by the early morning dynamism of David Warner, consigning McCullum to a kind of defensive recovery mode for the rest of the day. At 2 for 416, the match was effectively done as a contest after the first day, much as the Gabba had been.This has been a difficult tour for New Zealand on a number of levels. Their preparation was hopelessly compromised by the abandonment of the Blacktown tour fixture, having already been adversely affected by the scheduling of warm-ups on a series of dead pitches far removed from the greater bounce afforded in Perth and Brisbane.There was also the fact that bowlers such as Trent Boult and Jimmy Neesham were not 100% in fitness and rhythm at the outset of summer, after suffering various ailments during the winter. This cannot have helped in a period when the attack is also adjusting to a new bowling coach in Dimitri Mascarenhas, a jovial and knowledgeable operator but no substitute for the instant respect commanded by his predecessor Shane Bond.Lastly, the spectre of the Chris Cairns perjury trial kept McCullum away from his team for the week before they actually arrived in Australia, and has hung uncomfortably in the background throughout – a verdict in London’s Southwark Crown Court is expected to fall next week. McCullum said at the tour’s outset that he did not know how much this issue would affect him and others.In many ways, their plight resembles Australia’s after two days of the Lord’s Test in the 2013 Ashes series. Admittedly the defeat in the first match of that series at Trent Bridge was a tight one, but in St John’s Wood the tourists were humiliated and consigned to a 2-0 series ledger in the course of one afternoon’s dire batting, while James Pattinson grimaced out of the series with a torn side. At the time it was difficult to see a way forward, and some at Cricket Australia conceded it might be a matter of years before the Ashes were returned.Of course it is well known what happened next – the team of Michael Clarke and Darren Lehmann steadied in the latter part of the series, not winning a game but showing themselves to be quite capable of stretching England. By the end of the summer they had improved significantly, and when the return series arrived at home a few months later they tore into England with aggression bolstered by relevant knowledge.To seek improvement and remain united in the face of heavy defeats away from home is among the hardest tasks in the game. Australia’s subsequent 5-0 triumph was not as remarkable for happening in Australia than it was for taking place a matter of months after the 3-0 defeat in England. There is a lesson in all this for New Zealand, of the kind that McCullum and the coach Mike Hesson are doubtless aware.This summer features a smaller version of that dual Ashes bout, with Australia due to cross the Tasman in February for two Tests in Wellington and Christchurch, following a trio of ODIs in Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton. Given the right conditions overhead and underfoot, New Zealand will fancy their chances of performing far better against the same Australians who have so battered them thus far in Brisbane and Perth.Kane Williamson has looked majestic, but lacked support from his team-mates•Getty ImagesStrong as a newly-minted top order has looked at the Gabba and the WACA, McCullum knows that on slower, more seam-friendly tracks, the likes of Warner, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges and even Steven Smith will not be quite so secure. He knows this due to the ample evidence provided in the chaotic scenes of Birmingham and Nottingham, where English bowlers of similar velocity to Boult and Tim Southee created utter mayhem.Likewise, Hesson will be aware that Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Johnson were nothing like the same force on English pitches not affording them much bounce or pace to augment their natural height and speed. Intimidating as these bowlers can be, they were shown in England to lack the skills to adapt to such circumstances, particularly without runs to defend.So it will be a source of considerable long term succour for the tourists to reflect on what they were able to demonstrate on day two in the face of more febrile Perth heat. Boult and Doug Bracewell produced their best and most sustained spells of the trip, not just ending Warner’s stay earlier than expected but also frustrating Smith into a windy whoosh that drew his own dismissal. Even Mark Craig was able to prosper against batsmen dancing down the wicket to him – a day’s tally of 7 for 130 was something to remember.Likewise, the visiting batsmen were not rumbled when they took their weary legs out to bat. Martin Guptill fell lbw to late swing from Starc, but after that Tom Latham and Ross Taylor looked nicely composed, and most importantly provided steady support for the tremendously calm and organised Kane Williamson, who glided once more into an innings that frustrated Australian bowlers now forced to slog through the same heat New Zealand’s had.What Williamson showed in the final session of the day was already well known, but the other green shoots of hope offered up by his team-mates were new to the Australia players and observers present at the Gabba. New Zealand may be out of contention to regain the Trans-Tasman Trophy in this series, but they have the opportunity to set themselves up for a genuine tilt at victory on home shores a few months from now. Today was a worthy start to that effort.
