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| New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum acknowledges the crowd as he leaves the field for the last time after being dismissed for 25 by Australia’s Josh Hazelwood on the third day of the second test match at Hagley Park Oval in Christchurch on Monday |
Australia won the first test and needs only a draw to reclaim the top ranking from India among test-match nations.
Brendon McCullum was out for 25 on Monday in his last international innings as New Zealand slipped toward a series defeat on the third day of the second cricket test against Australia.
After making the fastest century in test history, from 54 balls, to lift New Zealand from 32-3 to 370 in its first innings, McCullum was again called on to play a match-saving role in the 176th and last test innings of his international career.
Kane Williamson, left to hold the New Zealand innings together, was 45 not out, while Corey Anderson was 9.
Australia won the first test at Wellington by an innings and 52 runs and needs only a draw at Hagley Oval to win the two-match series and to reclaim the top ranking from India among test-match nations.
McCullum is retiring after 101 tests, 260 one-dayers and 71 Twenty20 internationals. His final innings lasted all of 36 minutes and was full of the excitement and drama that has been a feature of his long career.
It also reflected the importance Australia placed on McCullum’s wicket.
McCullum needed a few balls to settle in and appraise the threat posed by Pattinson, who was able to get the ball to swing back late at right-handed batsmen. He hit three fours over or wide of the slip cordon and a six, pulled off the front foot, into the crowd beyond the square mid-wicket boundary.
But McCullum was out on next ball, caught by David Warner at short mid-wicket from the bowling of Josh Hazlewood.
New Zealand had previously lost Martin Guptill for 0, Tom Latham for 39 and Henry Nicholls for 2 as Australia’s bowlers dominated the hosts and edged closer to victory.
Earlier, New Zealand paceman Neil Wagner returned career-best figures of 6-106 to try to prevent the visitors from running up a huge first innings lead. He also claimed to vital wicket of Adam Voges for 60, ending his run of three straight centuries in his last three test innings.
Wagner had dismissed Steve Smith for 138 and Joe Burns for 170 late on the second day, which ended with Australia just seven runs behind New Zealand. He used a barrage of short-pitched balls through the first two sessions on Monday to remove Voges, Mitchell Marsh (18), Peter Nevill (13) and Hazlewood (13).
“As a kid growing up you dream of taking a five wicket bag against Australia,” Wagner said. “Probably not the way I took it; you dream of bowling guys out and getting guys out more conventionally. But you do dream of it and it’s a dream that came true for me.”
McCullum also had two catches to assist in Australia’s dismissal and bowled four overs, including two maidens, at a cost of three runs.
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