Australia vs New Zealand 2016, 1st ODI: 5 talking points
What started out as a continuation of the humiliating series loss against the Proteas turned into a Steven Smith show as the Aussie skipper hammered a 164 to take help the Aussies to a much-needed 64 run win. New Zealand started the chase in equally pompous fashion as Martin Guptill and later Jimmy Neesham found some momentum going.
But once the centurion Guptill was dismissed the Kiwis chase faded off and they fell short by 68 runs. The match was highlighted by a see-saw period of play early in the game as both teams struggled to take control of the game.
Smith out all those to rest in emphatic fashion, plundering the bowlers around haplessly. He got good company from Travis Head, chosen ahead of Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Wade finished things off to take Australia to their first 300+ total since the series against India in early January.
Here are the talking points from the game.
#1 Lockie Ferguson's on and off debut
Ferguson, who has been touted as someone capable of hitting the coveted 150kmph mark, bowled a half-volley that was dismissed by Warner straight down the ground for four. However, the young Lockie sharpened his pace and line and caught Warner inside-edging onto his stumps to take his maiden wicket.
But Ferguson's day did not get better as Steven Smith and Travis Head used his extra pace to great effect. He also overstepped as many as four times and all of the free hits resulted in runs. Smith was particularly harsh on the debutant and flicked and cut him with ease.
His figures 9-0-73-1 was possibly a bit too harsh statistically as the youngster showed good pace and bowled decent lines early on. Once the attack was on, he leaked a few runs but the young gun is surely a decent weapon to have.