Steve Smith (Getty Images)
By Rob Forsaith
Steve Smith relived memories of Australia's Ashes angst during the first trans-Tasman Test.
Thankfully for Smith it was New Zealand reeling after losing five wickets for 34 runs on day one of the clash in Wellington.
Smith's correct call at the toss, coupled with some
fine bowling from Josh Hazlewood and Peter Siddle, meant he was able to
sit back and enjoy the carnage.
"It was one of those mornings where there weren't
too many plays and misses and they nicked most of the balls," the
skipper said.
"A little bit like us at Edgbaston I guess, or Trent Bridge.
"It was nice to have one of those mornings ... it was a pretty good toss to win."
Smith has been speaking about the need to win away
and adapt to local conditions, with both bat and ball, since Australia
handed over the urn last year in England.
The recent Basin Reserve match was his side's first chance to put those words into practice.
Smith was impressed with what they delivered.
"We had to put the ball in the right areas and I
think we did that for an extended period and put the New Zealand batters
under a lot of pressure," the 26-year-old said.
"We reaped the rewards from that.
"With our batting, we were a lot more disciplined
about the way we played; willing to bat for long periods and get through
the tough periods."
Smith singled out centurions Adam Voges and Usman Khawaja for praise but noted the entire top order was firing.
"All the guys are working extremely hard to try and
have success in all conditions. I was really pleased with the way our
batters performed," he said.
Australia will reclaim the No.1 Test ranking if they win or draw the second Test, which starts in Christchurch on Saturday.
Smith happy with attack's reverse-swing
One of Australia's most eye-catching displays of
reverse-swing in recent years has delivered yet another shot of
confidence for Steve Smith's men.
It didn't cause a collapse or change the course of
the first Test in Wellington but the fact skipper Smith delayed taking
the second new ball on day four was telling.
Mitch Marsh, Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird all had
the old Kookaburra hooping on Monday, helping the tourists wrap up a
comfortable win on a Basin Reserve pitch that had flattened out.
The
trio will head to Christchurch, where the second Test starts on
Saturday and more bowling-friendly conditions are expected, ridding
high.
Opposing captains Smith and Brendon McCullum were both impressed with the way Australia's attack made the pill 'go Irish'.
"They identified pretty quickly the ball wasn't swinging conventionally," McCullum said.
"Once the ball's reverse-swinging it's another thing to apply pressure and execute it and they did that outstandingly well."
Smith noted reverse-swing wasn't always attainable, praising his quicks for capitalising on it in the first Test.
"I think we got lucky, someone hit a cut shot and it really scuffed up one side of the ball," Smith said.
"So that really got it started for us.
"But
I thought once we got the ball (reverse-swinging) the guys executed
really well, we hit good areas, we built a lot of pressure and the
bowlers reaped the rewards."
Mitch Marsh's lbw dismissal of Corey Anderson was a prime example.
The ball dipped late to dismiss Anderson for a duck.
"He bowled well in this Test, especially with the ball reversing a bit," McCullum said of Marsh.
"He's a dangerous proposition."
NZN
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