Mitchell Starc has equalled the legendary Dennis Lillee on 355 Test wickets after snaring Australia’s first breakthrough on day one of the Christchurch Test against New Zealand.
The Black Caps openers survived the first hour unscathed, with the only chance being a dropped one-handed grab from Travis Head at short leg, handing Will Young a reprieve on 8.
Starc returned to the attack after the drinks break and found Young’s leading edge, with Mitchell Marsh holding onto a superb low chance a third slip.
A few minutes later, fellow opener Tom Latham feathered a length delivery from Josh Hazlewood through to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, departing for 38.
On what was ultimately the final delivery before lunch, rising star Rachin Ravindra flashed at a wide delivery from Hazlewood, nicking behind to Usman Khawaja at first slip for 4.
MATCH CENTRE: Live scorecard, stats and more
Earlier, Australian captain Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bowl first.
While Australia went in with an unchanged XI, New Zealand handed a debut to quick Ben Sears after Will O’Rourke pulled up with a hamstring niggle, with the paceman surging into the Test team after just 19 first-class games (58 wickets at 27.03).
Watch Australia v New Zealand live with no ad breaks during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
LIVE BLOG
Follow all the action in our live blog below. If you can’t see the blog, click here.
Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
New Zealand XI: Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Scott Kuggeleijn, Matt Henry, Tim Southee (c), Ben Sears
Source Agencies
