NZ v Aus 2nd Test Day 1 Review: Brendon McCullum decimates Australia

Brendon McCullum began his final Test match for New Zealand with a resounding century as the second and final match of the series went underway. Expectedly, the Christchurch wicket was a green-top. However, similar to the first Test, Steve Smith called correctly and elected to field first.

Batting first, the New Zealand batting order began facing the same problems they were hit by in the first Test at Wellington. Martin Guptill was the first to go as he edged a bear-perfect out-swinger from James Pattinson to Joe Burns at second slip. Kane Williamson’s off stump nightmares continued as he was dismissed soon after. Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls were sent back to the pavilion as well as the Black Caps looked destined for yet another batting collapse. Enter Brendon McCullum.

Following the events of the first Test at Wellington, the Christchurch faithful expected anything but a fairytale. He kicked off the inning in trademark Brendon McCullum style as he smashed Mitchell Marsh straight back over his head for a maximum. The next few minutes saw the New Zealand skipper tear the Australian attack to shreds. It seemed as though McCullum was on a mission, a mission not only to end his career on a high but also to ensure that they don’t concede the home series.

McCullum reached his half-century in barely 30 odd deliveries. Now, he set his sights on the fastest century in Tests. The next 20 deliveries McCullum faced disappeared to the fence. He reached his century in true Brendon McCullum style by whacking a massive six over deep extra-cover. He surpassed the previous record set by Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, reaching his century in 54 balls. However, McCullum wasn’t done yet. He continued his onslaught and was finally dismissed for a mammoth 145. By this time, McCullum had decimated the Australian attack.

Corey Anderson and BJ Watling also joined their skipper as the Australian attack was put to the sword. Anderson scored 78 off 66 while Watling scored 58 off 57. The Kiwis were bowled out for 370 in 65.4 overs at a run rate of 5.63.

The Australians came out to bat the final 20 overs of the day. David Warner’s problems with the swinging ball continued as he was dismissed by Trent Boult early on in the innings. Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja held the fort as the Aussies succeeded in not losing any more wickets until the close of play.

Brief Scores (Day 1):

New Zealand 370 all out in 65.4 overs (McCullum 145; Lyon 3/61)

Australia 57/1 in 20 overs (Burns 27*; Boult 1/18)

How did Twitter react to McCullum’s knock? – Twitter Reaction: Brendon McCullum claims fastest Test century