The WACA Test is in a delicate position after three days of play, following an impressive partnership from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor that proved tough for Australia to crack.
New Zealand closed the second day with Williamson and Taylor at the crease on 2/140, but in a remarkable performance the pair were able to hold out for most of the third day and manufactured another 212 runs before Williamson finally fell, caught by Mitch Johnson.
It was another enormous display for Williamson who spent six and a half hours at the crease and notched 166 runs, but even more impressive was Taylor.
After poor performances at the Gabba, Taylor bounced back in a big way and at the end of Day 3 is on 235 not out having faced 308 balls and spent more than a day on the field.
Taylor’s 235 has broken the record books as the biggest individual score ever recorded by a New Zealander against Australia.
Australia were able to take another three wickets after Williamson fell, taking Brendon McCullum for 27, BJ Watling for a single and Doug Bracewell for 12.
Mark Craig, currently with seven runs to his name, will line up alongside Taylor when play resumes tomorrow.
It wasn’t a bumper day for any of the Australian bowlers as none took more than a single wicket, though Mitch Starc was able to put his name in the record books as well with a bowl of 160.4km/h.
All in all it was a great response from the Black Caps who were widely criticised after the first day of the Test but have bounced back to make it a very competitive affair.
At 6/510, there’s every chance they could go past Australia’s total of 559, which would be a little embarrassing for Australia after they chose to declare with a wicket still in hand.
It means the Test is wide open again – if New Zealand can restrict Australia to a small total when they go into bat next, they might even be able to win, which seemed nearly impossible two days ago.
Australia will want to build a significant lead when they go into bat before they risk declaring and trying to bowl the Black Caps out, but they’re not going to have a lot of time in which to do that at this rate.
How the pitch holds up will be the big question – will wickets start to fall faster as the match goes on? If they don’t, then a draw looks almost certain.
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