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AUS win 2 - 0 AUS gains 7 points; NZ loses 7 points
Draw 1 - 1 NZ gains 10 points; AUS loses 10 points
NZ win 2 - 0 NZ gains 23 points; AUS loses 23 points
Brisbane
18 - 21 November 2004
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first.� Australia was soon amongst the wickets with Richardson (19) and Fleming (0) falling with 26 runs on the board.� However, New Zealand then batted through to be 2 for 67 at lunch.� Australia broke through soon after play resumed, dismissing Styris (27) at 3 for 77.� New Zealand then consolidated again until Astle (19) was run out and Sinclair (69) was caught with 138 runs on the board.� By tea, Australia was beginning to dominate with the score 5 for 142.� During the evening session, Australia dismissed McMillan (23) and McCullum (10) to have New Zealand 7 for 206.� However, Oram and Vettori then batted through to a more even position at stumps, when the score was 7 for 250.
Australia dismissed Vettori (21) early on the second morning but then failed to go on and wrap up the innings.� Batting around Oram, who went on to post his second Test century, the Kiwis took the total to 317 before Mills (29) was caught.� By lunch, New Zealand was frustrating the Australians with the score 9 for 352.� Straight after play resumed, Martin (0) fell leaving Oram undefeated on 126 runs in a sound innings of 353 runs.� Kasprowicz (4 for 90 off 28 overs) and Warne (4 for 97 off 29.3 overs) shared the bowling honours in an effort that ominously saw McGrath take no wickets after a similar number of overs.� New Zealand moved to reinforce their advantage by dismissing Hayden (8) at 1 for 16.� However, Australia then consolidated and was 1 for 84 by tea.� On the second ball after tea, Langer (34) was trapped in front, then 24 runs later Ponting (51) was also dismissed.� After another 19 runs, Lehmann (8) was out at 4 for 128 and New Zealand was beginning to dominate the home side.� However, Martyn and Clarke then resisted until stumps, when the score was 4 for 197, still 156 runs in arrears.
New Zealand dismissed Martyn (70) in the seventh over of the third morning at 5 for 222 to give themselves the opportunity to impose a first innings lead over Australia - if they could just dismiss Clark or Gilchrist and get amongst the bowlers.� However, Clarke and Gilchrist had other ideas.� On the ball before lunch, Clarke became the second Australian to post a maiden Test century on foreign soil and then debut Test century on home soil.� At lunch, Australia was beginning to take control with the score 5 for 320, now only 33 runs in arrears.� Gilchrist posted his twelfth Test century and Australia took a first innings lead before Clarke (141) finally fell at 6 for 438.� A mini collapse followed with Gilchrist (126) and Warne (10) before Australia went to tea at 8 for 465. Kasprowicz (5) fell soon after play resumed at 9 for 471, with the lead 118 runs.� However, New Zealand lost the plot and started merely going through the motions awaiting the typical McGrath mistake, which didn't come, while McGrath benefited from two dropped catches.� By stumps, Australia was comprehensively in control of the match at 9 for 564 and a lead of 211 runs. McGrath was not out on 54 from 66 balls (a maiden Test fifty in his 102nd Test), and Gillespie not out on 44.
Australia inflicted more mental agony on New Zealand on the fourth morning be electing to bat on.� New Zealand took half an hour to eventually dismiss McGrath (61) leaving Gillespie not out on 54 runs, his maiden Test half century, in a partnership of 114 runs that handed the match to the home side.� Australia was all out for 585 runs while Martin was the best of the bowlers with 5 for 152 off 39.5 overs.� New Zealand then faced the task of scoring 232 runs to force the home side to bat again.� They began badly, losing openers Richardson (4) and Sinclair (0) to be 2 for 7 in the third over.� New Zealand then lost the plot completely, losing Fleming (11) and Styris (7) to be 4 for 42 at lunch.� Australia then took 18 overs while conceding only 34 more runs to dismiss Astle (17), Oram (8), McCullum (8), McMillan (9), Vettori (2) and Martin (0) to have New Zealand all out for 76 runs.� Warne was the most successful bowler with 4 for 15 off 10.2 overs as Australia won by an innings and 156 runs, the second largest margin over their neighbours in history.
Second Test
Adelaide
26 - 30 November 2004
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. The Langer made a blistering start, scoring at a strike rate of 160 to race into the 30s in the first few overs. The scoring rate then slowed through the remainder of the session until Australia went to lunch on top at no wicket for 87. Australia reinforced their advantage through the afternoon session, only losing Hayden (70) at 1 for 137 before going to tea at 1 for 203. New Zealand had greater success during the evening session and dismissed Ponting (68) and Martyn (7) to have Australia 3 for 261. However, Langer went on to post his 20th Test century and by stumps, Australia seemingly had the match in hand with the score 3 for 327 with Langer not out on 144 and Lehmann 28.
New Zealand needed to quickly break through the Australian batting on the second morning to have any chance of fighting their way back into the match. However, they were unable to create any chances and after Langer passed his third double century, Australia went to lunch at 3 for 433. New Zealand had a better afternoon session, dismissing Langer (215), Clarke (7) and Lehmann (81). However, by tea, Australia was in utter control with the score 6 for 533. New Zealand dismissed Gilchrist (50) after tea at 7 for 543. Upon Gillespie (12) being caught, Australia finally declared at 8 for 575, leaving Warne not out on 53. Vettori was the pick of the bowlers with 5 for 152 off 55.2 overs. New Zealand then began their reply and immediately lost Sinclair (0) at 1 for 2. Late in the session, Richardson (9) was bowled and at stumps, New Zealand was in trouble at 2 for 56, still 320 runs short of avoiding the follow on.
Australia dismissed night watchman Wiseman (11) early on the third day. However, New Zealand then fought through the remainer of the session and added a total of 84 runs to go to lunch at 3 for 140. The wheels fell off the New Zealand innings during the afternoon session. Upon Fleming (83) being caught behind at 4 for 153, New Zealand went on to lose Astle (52), Oram (12), McCullum (10) and Franklin (7) in the space of 60 runs to be 8 for 216 at tea. When play resumed, Australia dismissed Vettori (20) and Styris (28) to have New Zealand all out for 251 runs and a first innings lead of 324 runs. McGrath was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 66 off 20.1 overs. Ponting elected not to enforce the follow on, despite rain being forecast for the final day. Australia faced 21 overs before ending the day at no wicket for 57, with Hayden becoming the first player to score 1,000 runs in four consecutive years.
On the fourth morning, Langer became the 16th Australian to pass 6,000 Test runs before falling for 46 at 1 for 93. Hayden (54) fell at 2 for 119, but New Zealand failed to take any further wickets before Australia went to lunch at 2 for 135. The mind games continued after lunch with Australia adding just four runs before declaring at 2 for 139 and an overall lead of 463 runs. New Zealand began the most unlikely of chases poorly, losing Sinclair (2), Fleming (3), Richardson (16) and Styris (8) to be 4 for 36 at tea. New Zealand lost only Astle (38) during the evening session while adding a further 113 runs to end the day at 5 for 149, still 315 runs short of victory.
Australia set the tone for the day in the second over by dismissing Oram (40) and then McCullum (36) fell ten runs later as New Zealand slumped to 7 for 160. New Zealand struggled on, taking the score past 200 before Franklin (13) fell and then, on the stroke of lunch, Vettori (59) was out at 9 for 242. Australia took eleven deliveries after lunch to dismiss Styris (28) to have New Zealand all out for 251 runs. Australia claimed the Test by 213 runs while McGrath, Gillespie, Kasprowicz, Warne and Lehmann all claimed two wickets each to share the bowling honours.
