Scorecard
Once again the Garden of Eden hosted a classic Chappell-Hadlee match. Although Marcus Stoinis nearly gave the Australians a memorable victory, the BLACKCAPS held their nerve to take a 1-0 lead in the ANZ ODI Series.
Auckland turns it on
An Auckland public holiday, 30 degree heat and another chapter of the Trans-Tasman rivalry makes for a good day at Eden Park. Close to 30,000 packed in and made their presence known throughout the match and most of them left pretty happy – there was the odd Aussie in the crowd, so spare a thought for them!
Eden Park love for Guptill
Eden Park has been a happy hunting ground for Martin Guptill, and with his 32nd half-century the BLACKCAPS opener took over a new record. Previously held by Martin Crowe with 719 runs, Guptill overtook his late mentor for the most ODI runs by any player at the venue.
Stoinis strikes
From 128-2, things changed up quickly on the BLACKCAPS, with three wickets from allrounder Marcus Stones reducing the hosts to a precarious position at 134-5. Playing in just his second ODI, Stoinis collected a couple of nice scalps, including Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill and Colin Munro.
Broom sweeps in
The return of Neil Broom to international cricket keeps getting better and better. The 33-year-old played a masterful innings en route to the BLACKCAPS total of 287-9. He was there until the 49th over, battling his way to 73 from 75 balls and showed just why he deserved his recall.
Something to defend
Guptill and Broom stood out with the bat, but the cameo from Neesham and a late blaze from Boult meant the BLACKCAPS had a truly defendable total. Neesham came to the crease and formed a crucial partnership with Broom, striking his way to 48 from 45. Boult came to the crease with eight balls remaining and swatted his way to 16 runs, including a pull shot, a ramp and an off drive – number 11 you reckon?
Boult blitzes early
The number one ODI bowler in the world got the BLACKCAPS off to the perfect start, dismissing both of the Aussie openers in the first four overs. He sent the dangerous pair of Aaron Finch and Travis Head on their way cheaply as the BLACKCAPS seized the momentum and gave Eden Park every reason to get behind their side. Australia were under pressure.
Bowlers don’t relent
And that pressure would compound. Lockie Ferguson’s pace upset the Australian middle-order and alongside wickets from Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee, reduced Australia to 67-6. Many felt the BLACKCAPS were cruising to victory – many would be wrong.
Superman Stoinis
The best Michael Bevan impersonation you’ll ever see, with infinitely more power. Stoinis came in at number seven with his side in all sorts of bother, but showed remarkable composure as he guided his side to within striking distance. The man of the match struck 11 sixes on his way to an unbeaten 146 and rose the blood pressure of everyone at Eden Park. Many described it as one of the best ODI innings they’ve seen. For Eden Park to give a standing ovation to an Australian – you know it must have been special.
Captain Kane does it again
The biggest moment of the game fell to Captain Kane Williamson and after an earlier missed chance, the skipper held his nerve. Searching for a single, Stoinis hit the ball straight to Williamson and short mid-on and with Hazlewood backing up a little too far, Williamson turned, underarmed and lit the bails up. The 27,911 inside Eden Park erupted as the replay showed the Australia number 11 to be just short of his ground. New Zealand sighed a collective breath of relief and the BLACKCAPS took a 1-0 lead in the series. Bring on Napier on Thursday.
