[Watch] Tim Southee drops a sitter on the last ball of Day 2 of the 1st NZ vs AUS Test
In a shocking finish to a quite dramatic day in Wellington, New Zealand captain Tim Southee dropped a sitter of Nathan Lyon on the last ball before stumps to deprive his team of the chance to end the day with three Australian wickets in the bag.
Matt Henry pitched a delivery on a perfect length outside the off-stump. Lyon, who had come out as a nightwatchman after the fall of two early wickets, hung his bat out helplessly. The ball took a thick outside edge to third slip. Southee, who was just a bit too excited and a bit too forward, couldn't hold on to the chance.
Watch the video here:
The build-up to the drop was dramatic too. Lyon picked up an injury a few overs before which required a couple of interventions from the physio. The Kiwi crowd booed the Aussie for it, believing he was trying to waste time.
In the last over, Lyon's partner Usman Khawaja took a single on the fourth ball and gave the veteran spinner a couple of words of motivation for the final two deliveries. So, Henry and company brought in all the fielders, setting up a ring of close-in men around the right-handed batter.
The fifth ball was a waste down-the-leg short one but the final one certainly deserved a wicket.
New Zealand couldn't be angry at Tim Southee either
It was the captain himself who picked up the first two wickets, which the hosts desperately needed after conceding a big 204-run lead in the first innings. Southee got Steven Smith out for a duck on the third ball of the first over and then had Marnus Labuschagne edge one behind the keeper off a tickle down the leg.
Australia went to Stumps at 13/2, leading by 217 runs. New Zealand would need wickets early Saturday morning to even have a chance of a comeback in the Test.