New Zealand consolidate after Australia post massive total
In a script which was similar to the Gabba test, Australia yet again posted a huge total on the board before they declared at 559/9 on the second day of the WACA Test. The only difference this time, was that the Kiwi bowlers put in a good fight and picked up 7 Aussie wickets for just 143 runs towards the end.
The hosts resumed from their overnight score of 416/2 with David Warner unbeaten at 244*, but fell early in the day after reaching his maiden score of 250 in Tests. Warner finished on 253 in 286 balls, with a strike rate at an excess of 88.
Captain Smith was yet again cheaply dismissed, and that was when Adam Voges and Mitchell Marsh stitched a useful 50-run stand for the fifth wicket. Voges narrowly missed out on his half-century, while Marsh and Peter Nevill played useful cameo knocks to push the team total to 559/9.
For the visitors, spinner Mark Craig was the pick of the bowlers as he snarled three lower order wickets to slow down the Aussie momentum. After a forgettable performance in the first test, Trent Boult bowled much better in Perth, picking up the wicket of the dangerous David Warner early in the day, and also dismissing Voges.
After coming out to bat, New Zealand got off to a disastrous start, losing their opener Guptill in only the second over of the innings. However, Tom Latham and the ever-reliable Kane Williamson steadied things for the visitors with a 81-run stand.
After Latham perished for 36, Williamson got together with Ross Taylor and made sure New Zealand did not lose anymore wickets at stumps. The former remained unbeaten on 70, while Taylor was batting at 26, as Kiwis finished an eventful day at 140/2.
Australia received another body blow towards the later half of the day, as their star batsman Usman Khawaja was injured while fielding at the boundary line. He was immediately off the field and was replaced by a substitute. The extent of the injury wasn't immediately known, but the batsman is set to undergo a series of medical tests and scan on Sunday.
Brief Scores: Australia 559/9 dec (Warner 253, Khawaja 121; M.Craig 3/123); New Zealand 140/2 (Williamson 70*, Latham 36; Starc 1/17).
Scorecard:
Australia won the toss and decided to bat first
Aus 1st innings:
| David Warner | 253 (286) |
| Joe Burns | 40 (73) |
| Usman Khawaja | 121 (186) |
| Steven Smith | 27 (68) |
| Adam Voges | 41 (83) |
| Mitchell Marsh | 34 (64) |
| Peter Nevill | 19 (21) |
| Mitchell Johnson | 2 (10) |
| Mitchell Starc | 0 (3) |
| Josh Hazlewood | 8 (6) |
| Nathan Lyon | 4 (1) |
| Total | 559/9 dec |
Bowling:
| Overs | Runs | Wickets | |
| Tim Southee | 29 | 88 | 0 |
| Trent Boult | 26 | 123 | 2 |
| Matt Henry | 22 | 105 | 2 |
| Doug Bracewell | 25 | 81 | 2 |
| Mark Craig | 23 | 123 | 3 |
| Kane Williamson | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| Martin Guptill | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| Brendon McCullum | 2 | 16 | 0 |
NZ 1st innings:
| Martin Guptill | 1 (5) |
| Tom Latham | 36 (85) |
| Kane Williamson | 70* (121) |
| Ross Taylor | 26* (44) |
| Total | 140/2 |
Bowling:
| Overs | Runs | Wickets | |
| Mitchell Starc | 11 | 17 | 1 |
| Josh Hazlewood | 11 | 48 | 0 |
| Mitchell Johnson | 8 | 34 | 0 |
| Nathan Lyon | 8 | 24 | 1 |
| Mitchell Marsh | 4 | 13 | 0 |