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Smith, Labuschagne give Oz edge over New Zealand on Day 1
Twin half-centuries from Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne put Australia slightly ahead on Day 1 of the second Test against New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Melbourne : Twin half-centuries from Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne put Australia slightly ahead on Day 1 of the second Test against New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
In front of the largest Boxing Day crowd (80,473) to attend a non-Ashes Test for almost 50 years, Australia reached 257/4 at Stumps on Thursday. Put into bat, Australia didn't have a great start as Joe Burns was bowled to a peach of a delivery by Trent Boult, who was making a comeback.
David Warner and Labuschagne then stitched a 60-run stand before the left-handed opener was brilliantly caught at slips off the bowling of Neil Wagner. On 41, Warner drove with feet planted at a full ball from Wagner that shaped away with the resultant edge flying sharply to the right of Tim Southee who instinctively threw out a paw and completed the catch as he spun around.
Smith, who came in next, then took the team to lunch without any further wicket falling but was booed by vocal New Zealand supporters during their team's first Boxing Day Test in 32 years at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
As Smith walked onto the ground during their team's first Boxing Day Test in 32 years at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), boos echoed around the MCG, thus making him angry.
According to a report in stuff.co.nz, some of the Kiwi fans in the Olympic Stand even waved what looked like sandpaper, thus reminding the former Australia captain of his role in the infamous sandpaper gate controversy which took place last year in Cape Town.
During his short spell before the lunch, Smith was visibly furious after umpire Nigel Llong twice robbed him of runs with rulings about his batting against Neil Wagner.
The right-handed batter twice shouldered arms and the short balls crashed into his body before bouncing away. However, when he tried to go for a run, Llong ruled Smith had played no shot, so the runs would not be awarded.
The 30-year-old angrily argued he was taking evasive action to avoid getting hit in a dangerous place by the short ball barrage.
"Well the umpire's wrong," Shane Warne said on Fox Cricket. "Steve Smith has every right to be angry because the interpretation Nigel Llong is giving at the minute is incorrect."
"The rule is if you evade a short ball and it hits any part of your body you're allowed to run even if you don't play a shot. "I'm sure someone's going to have a chat to Nigel Llong in the lunch break because Steve Smith's livid and rightly so," he added.
In the post-lunch session, Smith and Labuschagne resisted the push from the Black Caps and slowly wrested back the initiative for the hosts. They both scored 83 runs for the third wicket before Labuschagne -- after scoring his fifth consecutive fifty - was bowled by Colin de Grandhomme at 63.
After that, Smith partnered with Matthew Wade (38) and then Travis Head to see the hosts pass the 250-run mark. At the close of play, Smith was batting at 77 alongside Head who remained unbeaten at the crease on 25.
