Australia’s flaky batters tease but Lyon stings Williamson

Wellington: There’s a History Channel series called Kings of Pain, in which a wildlife biologist and an animal handler take turns being bitten or stung by a variety of insects and animals, ostensibly to measure how much each hurts.

On day three at the Basin Reserve the role of the stingers was played by Australia; the thankless pain testing job taken on by New Zealand.

Nathan Lyon in action in Wellington.Credit: Getty Images

A smooth innings by Rachin Ravindra (56 not out) and a fortunate one by Daryl Mitchell (12 not out) took the Black Caps to another tantalising juncture by the close, 258 runs away with seven wickets in hand. New Zealand’s followers will await day four to find out whether this is all another setup for the biggest sting yet.

Every time the Black Caps threatened to pull genuinely back into the game on day three, it appeared that they were merely being cued up for more pain. In the case of Nathan Lyon, there was plenty of venom in the bites he delivered on multiple occasions.

First, his turn as nightwatcher extended out to a freewheeling innings of 41, maintaining a record as the leading run-maker in Test history not to have passed 50 even once. Next, Lyon defeated Tom Latham and the spinal Kane Williamson just as it appeared the new ball might be seen off.

In Williamson’s case, a leg glance straight into the hands of Steve Smith at leg slip was cause for him to instantly reel away, as though bitten by a particularly venomous spider. For two days in succession he has been trapped in Australia’s web.

“That was the plan and it’s nice when plans come off pretty well straight away,” Lyon said. “I’ve noticed something in Kane’s batting against my bowling, so I tried to exploit that.

“My biggest weapon is my bounce, so I’ll continue trying to get some overspin on the ball, get some bounce and try to hit the stickers on the bat, and challenge the guys’ defence on the crease. I’ve got a fair understanding of what their plan is going to be, so there’s a good opportunity for me tonight to reset some goals and some plans and we’ll go from there.

“If we do our job and put pressure on guys for long periods of time, I’m confident with the bowlers in that change room that we’ll create more than seven chances.”

The sense of entrapment for a sting only grew when Will Young was wonderfully pouched by Smith, lunging to his left to take an edge off that great spin bowling chancer Travis Head. Smith’s take was a fitting one to surpass Mark Waugh’s celebrated mark of 181 Test catches – and that from 20 fewer games.

Steve Smith snares a sharp chance in the slips.Credit: Fox Cricket

Lyon’s top score covered for another flaky batting performance. The loss of 6-37 after lunch saw the innings rounded up chiefly by the handy off spin of Glenn Phillips. Pat Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald were left to ponder a disturbing trend since the midpoint of the Ashes last year.

Cameron Green had saved the first innings by going on to a magnificent 174 with help from Josh Hazlewood. But this time there was no truly substantial innings around which others could bat.

Several members of the top seven will regret their inattentiveness to Phillips’ clever use of the Basin Reserve wind.

Tossing up to tease, he coaxed Usman Khawaja into a stumping, Head to be taken at long off, Mitchell Marsh and Green to bunt to short leg, and Alex Carey to drive airily to a man in close - much as he did against Joe Root in the fifth Ashes Test last year.

Glenn Phillips celebrates his fifth wicket.Credit: Getty

These moments, celebrated with gusto by an ebullient Phillips, extended a sequence of mediocre or worse batting that has cost Australia Test matches in at Headingley, the Oval and the Gabba. Other games in Manchester, Melbourne and Sydney might easily have ended in further defeats for the same reason.

Nevertheless, a target of 369 would be comfortably the biggest successful chase in New Zealand’s history, and Lyon loomed as the biggest danger even as Phillips was scooping his first five-wicket haul in Tests.

Latham reproached himself when he flirted with Hazlewood’s second ball and nearly edged behind. He waved the bat similarly at Lyon’s shortish but prancing second delivery and deflected neatly into Carey’s gloves to be out just before tea.

Williamson never looked entirely serene at the crease, fidgeting as he battled to find Lyon’s deliveries as they dipped against the breeze. Lyon created several near chances from over the wicket. The move to around the stumps conjured the ideal delivery, as Smith stayed alert to take the sharp chance in both hands.

Young battled manfully in each innings, but the natural variation of Head’s spin drew an edge that Smith virtually caught behind him. He has taken many, many brilliant one-handers to his right side, fewer on the left. Smith’s unconfined glee said as much.

Mitchell looked anything but comfortable against Lyon, and was beaten numerous times by Cummins, but held on while Ravindra sculpted the sort of innings he had already proven capable of against Australia at the ODI World Cup.

Hope springs eternal for Ravindra, Mitchell, Phillips and company, particularly in an era of successful chases. But 147 years of Test history suggest this game is more likely to be another episode of Kings of Pain, with Lyon and his teammates applying the venom to Kiwi hearts.