Steve Smith had a day to remember as Australia took a 1-0 lead over New Zealand in their one-day international series, with attention now turning to the nation’s capital and Manuka Oval for the second match.
Being a three-match series, every match is now a must-win situation for the tourists, and after their beating on Sunday it had to be asked how they will bounce back.
After a strong start, when they removed Aaron Finch in the first over and ran through the Australian top order, the captain stole the show with the bat, scoring one of his more spectacular centuries.
Smith would end up with a ridiculous 164, the highest ever score in an ODI at the SCG and it guided Australia from the perilous position of 4 for 92 to where they eventually ended at 8 for 324, with Smith getting out in the final overs.
While Smith led the way, it would have been an impossible recovery effort if not for a brilliant half-century from Travis Head and a quick-fire performance from Matthew Wade.
In reply, the only batsman who paved the way for the Kiwis was Martin Guptill, with wickets falling all around him after a strong start when he was joined by Jimmy Neesham.
Australia getting Kane Williamson and Tom Latham to leave the tourists stranded at 2 for 34 was a positive start, and once Neesham and Colin Munro departed it was an inevitable defeat for the tourists.
Despite the victory, there is plenty to work on for the Australians as attention now turns to Canberra.
The scoreboard almost made the game seem more dominant than it was for the hosts after a slow start with the bat.
With many of the New Zealand batsmen stumbling and failing, that can’t be expected again at Manuka Oval, where runs normally come with relative ease.
History
Last five meetings
March 4 2016 – Australia won by 68 runs at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
February 8 2016 – New Zealand won by 55 runs at Seddon Park, Hamilton
February 6 2016 – Australia won by 4 wickets at Westpac Stadium, Wellington
February 3 2016 – New Zealand won by 159 runs at Eden Park, Auckland
March 29 2015, (world cup final) – Australia won by 7 wickets at Melbourne Cricket Ground, MelbourneLast five series
2016 – New Zealand defeat Australia 2-1 (in New Zealand)
2015 – New Zealand defeat Australia 1-0 (world cup)
2011 – Australia defeat New Zealand 1-0 (world cup)
2010 – Australia defeat New Zealand 3-2 (in New Zealand)
2009 – Drawn 2-2 (in Australia)Current series results
1st match: Australia 8/324 (Steve Smith 164, Travis Head 52, Matthew Wade 38, Trent Boult 2/51) defeat New Zealand 256 (Martin Guptill 114, Colin Munro 49, James Neesham 34)
Why didn’t Tim Southee play?
Maybe one of the most baffling selection decisions for the first Test was New Zealand’s decision to drop Tim Southee from the side, playing two rookie Lockie Ferguson alongside Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry and Trent Boult in their pace attack.
In another weird twist, de Grandhomme as the side’s fifth bowler only bowled six overs, going at less than five runs per over, while Neesham also bowled six but went at nearly ten runs per over.
Lockie Ferguson didn’t quite live up to expectations either, and while he brought plenty of pace, taking 1 for 73 from nine overs wasn’t brilliant.
Sure he bowled at the death of the innings when Steve Smith was going all guns blazing, but none of what has been mentioned here makes the decision to leave Southee out any more sensible.
Southee was one of the Kiwis’ better bowlers during the 2015 World Cup, working in tandem with new ball partner Boult, and should have had a guaranteed spot on this tour even though he has had to deal with some injuries.
It will be interesting to see whether New Zealand insert Southee for Canberra, especially given how poorly they bowled during the middle of the innings in Sydney.
Did Australia get their selection right in Sydney?
More questions about selection from Sydney here and whether the Aussies should make any changes moving into the second match of the series.
While the squad seemed to be fairly settled heading into the match, a couple of selections confused many as James Faulkner and Glenn Maxwell were both left out, with Patrick Cummins and Travis Head both included.
Given Head’s form, it was a surprise he got a spot in the team over the big-hitting Maxwell, who of course ran his mouth a little during the week.
Now Head has a half-century to his name, it’s nearly impossible to drop him from the side. Mitch Marsh won’t be losing his spot so the final batting spot comes down to former captain George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell.
Because of Bailey’s ability to bat in the top order, it’s hard to see this one being changed around, yet it still feels like there needs to be room for Maxwell somewhere.
In terms of the Cummins’ selection, no-one can really blame the selectors for wanting him to play him and form what is a formidable pace attack with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
The problem, though, lies in the fact that Faulkner is an incredible talent with the bat, has plenty of variations in his bowling that suit the shorter forms of the game and could have given the hosts a massive X-factor at number eight in the order.
Cummins didn’t exactly set the world on fire either, taking 2 for 62 from nine overs so, on a pitch that is likely to need plenty of variation in bowling, it will be interesting to see which way Australia’s selectors go for the final bowling spot.
Steve Smith is brilliant, but Australia’s openers must build a platform
The innings on Sunday from Smith at the Sydney Cricket Ground was one of absolute class. He dug Australia out of a massive hole that the top order had left, and then went about bludgeoning everything as he got his strike rate over 100 and the Aussies over 300.
However, the pressure can’t be on the captain every single time and for that reason openers David Warner and Aaron Finch must build a platform.
Of course, not all the blame should go on the openers, although Finch’s dismissal was technically poor. Mitch Marsh got incredibly unlucky and George Bailey should have scored more runs.
The top five, with the exception of Smith, all need to lift their game in Canberra, because if there is one thing for sure, it’s that the Kiwis will have learned from their mistakes and won’t serve up 25 overs of near rubbish to complete the innings.
The pressure is on for the Australian batsmen then as they try to close out the series.
Manuka Oval is known for its runs – but who will answer the call?
Manuka Oval is known for its high scoring games. Out of eight ODIs played at the ground, there have been eight innings that have finished with scores above six runs per over.
For that reason, and of course this all depends on the wicket we get, scoring runs from the outset at a high rate will be of paramount importance for both sides.
Essentially, anything less than 300 is not going to give the bowlers enough to defend. Based on the past performances of Australia against South Africa, India and the West Indies – all of which proved to be winning scores – 330 will be the absolute minimum for whichever side bats first.
For that reason, Martin Guptill will need to get the Kiwis off to a cracking start, as will David Warner and Aaron Finch for Australia.
You certainly can’t win the game in the first batting powerplay of ten overs, but a team could go along way to losing it by not scoring runs and losing wickets.
Kane Williamson will be due for a score, and he could be the X-Factor
Whenever Kane Williamson fires, it seems New Zealand do and nowhere was that more evident than on their recent tour of India, with Williamson guiding the Black Caps to a couple of victories.
He failed in Sydney, and with Tom Latham also out early, that left New Zealand in a hole they struggled to get out of.
Williamson will be keen to avenge that in Canberra, and given he scores runs in big quantities so often he is now due for a score.
If Australia don’t get rid of him early, things could get very ugly for the green and gold.
The advantage of batting first in Canberra
As much as I’m not a stickler for historical statistics when deciding what is going to happen in the next match, this one can’t be overlooked.
Out of the eight one-day international matches that have been played at Manuka Oval, six have been won by the team batting first.
In an even bigger tilt to the history books determining the outcome of this match, those matches have been the last six ones, and while some have been a case of the better team batting first there is no question it could play a role in this match.
In 2014, Australia, who had been up and down against South Africa in a five-match ODI series, put on 329 batting first with every batsmen who went to the middle making runs.
In reply, Hashim Amla would make a century as the Proteas crashed for 252. This is not an isolated incident and batting second at Manuka Oval obviously carries a distinct disadvantage.
Key Information
First ball: 2:20pm (AEDT)
Venue: Manuka Oval, Canberra
TV: Live, Nine Network
Online: Cricket Australia Live Pass
Betting: Australia $1.48, New Zealand $2.65
Overall Record: Played 131, Australia 88, New Zealand 37, no result 6
Last five: New Zealand 2, Australia 3
At Manuka: Never playedHours of play
Start (AEDT) Finish (AEDT) 1st Innings 2:20 PM 5:50 PM Break 5:50 PM 6:35 PM 2nd Innings 6:35 PM 10:05 PM *Times are subject to change due to over rates, game situation, weather
Australia (likely XI and squad)
1. David Warner (vc)
2. Aaron Finch
3. Steve Smith (c)
4. George Bailey
5. Mitchell Marsh
6. Travis Head
7. Matthew Wade (wk)
8. Patrick Cummins
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Josh Hazlewood
11. Adam ZampaHilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner
New Zealand (likely XI and squad)
1. Martin Guptill
2. Tom Latham
3. Kane Williamson (c)
4. James Neesham
5. BJ Watling (wk)
6. Colin Munro
7. Mitchell Santner
8. Colin de Grandhomme
9. Matt Henry
10. Lockie Ferguson
11. Trent BoultTodd Astle, Tim Southee, Henry Nicholls
Series Fixtures
1st Match: Australia won by 68 runs at Sydney Cricket Ground
2nd Match: December 6, Manuka Oval, Canberra
3rd match: December 9, Melbourne Cricket Ground
*All matches start at 2:20pm (AEDT).
Australia might have taken the first match in Sydney, but the Black Caps will learn plenty from the fixture and be keen to bounce back.
Their bowling will no doubt be better, and if Kane Williamson fires, as one suspects he might, then they should pick up the win.
New Zealand to level the series.
Don’t forget The Roar will have a live blog of each and every day from the summer of cricket as well as highlights throughout the match.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
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