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AUTHOR John M View more from this author
SECOND TEST: NEW ZEALAND VS AUSTRALIA – CHRISTCHURCH (MARCH 8 – 12)
The Trans-Tasman trophy may be staying with Australia but fierce rivals New Zealand will still have plenty of motivation to square the series with victory in the second test at Hagley Oval, starting on Friday. The Aussies completed an ultimately comfortable 172-run win in Wellington on day four, however they owed much to a game-changing tenth wicket partnership on the second morning between Cameron Green (174 not out) and Josh Hazlewood (22) which boosted the visitors from 9/267 to an imposing first innings total of 383, with neither side able to make 200 thereafter as veteran tweaker Nathan Lyon captured match-figures of 10/108. The Black Caps started brightly, reducing Australia to 7/211 on day one with Matt Henry claiming 5/70, then when the pitch dried up it was all-rounder Glenn Phillips (5/45) who ran through the Aussies with his part-time off-spin in their second innings, but it was the hosts' batting which let them down with Philipps' counter-attacking 71 off just 70 balls in the first innings and Rachin Ravindra's promising 59 in their second dig the only scores of note with none of their top three making it to 20 in either innings'.
Betting Strategy:
The reigning World Test Champions are marginally shorter to back up their first test victory with another win, however, this time around a Black Caps response is considered significantly more likely than the draw which has blown out following the four-day finish at Wellington, and with clear skies expected in Christchurch.
Hagley Oval is another result ground with just one draw there in 12 tests played, so we can safely rule out the stalemate, even at a bigger price, and whilst the first test saw a continuation of the Kiwis ceding to their bigger brothers, they did have several moments in the game where they troubled the Aussies, so hence we'll leave the match odds alone altogether.
New Zealand talisman Kane Williamson had a rare poor outing at Basin Reserve, dismissed for single figures in both knocks for only the eighth time in 99 test matches. However his recent record, particularly in the first innings, has been nothing short of outstanding, averaging an absurd 81.72 in the first dig since the end of 2020 and top-scoring in the first innings in three of his past six tests. The former skipper also averages just shy of 50 at Hagley Oval, so we're expecting New Zealand's best batsman to celebrate his 100th test in style.
Betting Strategy
BACK: Kane Williamson Top New Zealand 1st Inns Batter at $4.00+ for 1 unit
BACK KANE WILLIAMSON 4
8/3/2024 - 3:30 am
