Australia Spin to Victory in First Test Against New Zealand

World Test Championship winners Australia secured a convincing 172-run victory over New Zealand in the first Test at Wellington, thanks to a dominant bowling performance on the fourth morning, spearheaded by spinner Nathan Lyon.

While Lyon claimed six wickets in the second innings for figures of 6-65, taking his match haul to 10-108, it was a combined effort from the Australian bowlers that sealed the win.

They ripped through the New Zealand lower order, dismissing them for 196 after they resumed at 111-3, needing 369 runs for victory.

Despite Lyon’s impressive bowling display, the Player of the Match award went to young gun Cameron Green, whose scintillating knock of 174 not out in the first innings laid the foundation for Australia’s success.

Captain Pat Cummins acknowledged the significance of Green’s innings, stating, “You look at the trend of the game, I think the next score is about 50 or so and he’s obviously put on 170-odd not out. I thought the way he went about his innings, as well as that intent, really put the pressure back on the bowlers on day one.”

Cummins also highlighted the challenging nature of the wicket, praising the adaptability of his bowlers. “Seeing how green it was, it was really bouncy, had a bit of pace in it, but it had as much bounce as I’ve seen on any wicket for a long time. And then thankfully it spun, which with Nathan (Lyon) in our side is always a pretty good thing,” he said.

New Zealand’s chase crumbled after a promising start, with Rachin Ravindra (59), Daryl Mitchell (38), and Glenn Phillips (1) falling in quick succession to Lyon.

Green then dismissed Scott Kuggeleijn, while Josh Hazlewood got rid of Matt Henry and Tim Southee. Mitchell, who showed some resistance, was the last man dismissed, caught and bowled by bendemeer bullet Hazlewood.

New Zealand captain Tim Southee admitted their shortcomings and vowed to learn from the defeat. “We’ll reflect on this, we’ll debrief it and move to a different ground, with a different surface – a ground we’ve had a lot of success at,” he said. “We’ll prepare in Christchurch, but we have a couple of days here to reflect on this week.”

The second Test of the series commences in Christchurch on Friday. New Zealand will hope for a comeback because they have won only one of their last 17 test matches against Australia who are currently on a roll.