Australia vs New Zealand highlights: Three wickets fall as rain delays Day 4

Day result:

Australia needs seven wickets to win the Test at the Gabba on the final day, after rain halted their steady progress through the Black Caps’ batting order on Day 4.

REPORT: THREE DOWN, SEVEN TO GO

Tom Latham, Martin Guptil and Kane Williamson all fell on the fourth day – with Mitch Starc taking the first and Nathan Lyon the others – as New Zealand put up a total of 142 runs from 53 overs.

There was no play after the tea break as rain hit Brisbane, setting up a dramatic final day on Monday with a minimum of 98 overs to be bowled.

Scores at end of day
Australia 564/4d & 264/4d
New Zealand 317 & 142/3

Day preview

With a lead of 503 runs, Australia will declare early on Day 4 and begin their quest to take 10 New Zealand wickets to win the first Test match. Join The Roar from 11am (AEDT) for live scores and coverage.

Quick-fire second-innings centuries to Joe Burns and David Warner have laid the platform for what promises to be a resounding Australian victory.

By recording centuries in both innings, Warner joined Sunil Gavaskar and Ricky Ponting as the only men to have achieved this feat on three different occasions. Burns, after a run of three successive fifties, brought up his maiden Test ton in sensational style with two sixes in the space of three balls.

However with the threat of showers on the agenda, Australia must allow their bowlers ample time to take 10 wickets. One would expect Smith to declare before lunch at the very latest – if he doesn’t declare overnight. With Usman Khawaja and Adam Voges under strict instructions to score rapidly, Smith may also pull the pin after the first wicket this morning.

With 820 runs in this Test match it goes without saying that the selections of Burns, Khawaja and Voges have been justified. With Tim Southee suffering an irritable disc in his back and Trent Boult down on pace and confidence, the Australians have feasted on New Zealand’s bowlers with run rates of 4.26 and 6.28 in their two innings.

After a splendid 237-run opening partnership yesterday, Burns and Warner have all the makings to add to the list of Australia’s great opening partnerships, with youth on their side.

For New Zealand, the performance of star batsman Kane Williamson is probably the only positive to take out of the first three days. Williamson, like Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Joe Root, is one of a new breed of batsman dominating Test cricket. With sublime technique, Williamson made his teammates look ordinary as he handled Australia’s attack relatively easily on his way to 140.

Williamson is the man most likely to halt the Australian procession on Days 4 and 5. If New Zealand are a chance to get anything out of this Test match, they need contributions from the likes of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor, who both failed in their first dig.

It will be interesting to identify the mindset of the Black Caps throughout the next two days. Known for their aggressive style of batting, which McCullum epitomises, it is hard to envision them blocking and leaving in the hope of a draw. Australia know all too well the heartache that can occur from this style of play, as Faf Du Plessis (110* off 376) and AB De Villiers (33 off 220) pulled off a famous draw in 2012 at Adelaide.

The potential of New Zealand playing for a draw will put much of the onus on Nathan Lyon to perform bowling into the footmarks. Mark Craig’s three late wickets on Day 3 showed that the pitch is starting to turn ever so slightly.

It promises to be a cracking day of cricket, as Australia look to seal a resounding victory in Brisbane. Join The Roar from 11am (AEDT), and be sure to leave your comments as the game progresses.