Perth Test, Day 5, Tea
Tuesday, December 4, 2001

Well, now that makes things interesting! The game was beginning to drift a bit before Damien Martyn's wicket, and I don't think the New Zealanders had recovered from Steve Waugh's let-off. They'd allowed their heads to go down and their intensity dropped. I was commentating at the time, and there was definitely a sound in my earpiece from the stump microphone. The reaction of the Kiwis was the giveaway - they all went up as one, which is something they haven't done at all except when they're convinced.

Waugh's made the most of his chance. He's got his defence organised, and is looking solid, but he seems to be the only batsman to have called the chase off. Martyn and Mark Waugh were still playing their shots, and really the Australians haven't got it together out there.

It was a great decision to bring Craig McMillan on for that three-over burst, but I can't understand Mark Waugh's choice of shot. Why did he have to hit the ball for four? Basically McMillan did him. After Brisbane he'd probably have been expecting a short ball, but instead it was quite well pitched up, swinging a bit. Very nicely done.

It's never possible to write these Australians off, though that last wicket will probably persuade them the victory is out of the question. To re-ignite New Zealand's challenge, Fleming needs to bowl as if they've got a million runs to play with - perhaps with an in-out field for the seamers, a few men on the boundaries, a couple of bat-pads. As for Daniel Vettori, just pack them all round the bat.

I mentioned in the first Test that if New Zealand had been serious about their run-chase, they'd have sent Cairns in up the order. Likewise here, Australia could really have afforded to put Adam Gilchrist in earlier, with Martyn and Waugh hanging back to do the stonewalling if necessary. Waugh prides himself on his flexibility, so he could have kept things going at 5-6 an over if the situation had been there. Australia haven't thought very hard about this innings.

The rain was a weird one. It's been and gone now, but it will have damaged the seam on the ball, which won't have helped Vettori's chances. It might conceivably juice up the pitch for the new ball, which is due in a few overs, but I doubt it. The new ball could be a last throw of the dice for New Zealand. They would dearly love Steve Waugh's wicket, and they thought they had it already. But, to even things up, Matthew Hayden was dismissed by a no-ball!

Now that's a ruling that doesn't work - no-balls are nothing deliveries, there's no entertainment for the public, and they only aggravate players. Richie Benaud has calculated that there have been more than 25,000 of them since the rule came in, which is a lot of wasted time. But how do you go about changing it? You can't exactly run a trial in domestic cricket, then carry on with a different method in Tests.

Ian Healy made a record 395 dismissals in 119 Tests for Australia. His comments will be appearing on Wisden.com at the end of every session in the series. He was talking to Andrew Miller.

More Ian Healy
Day 5, Tea: Game over
Day 4, Close: Kiwis know how to win

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd