Australia v New Zealand: first Test, day three – live!

47th over: New Zealand 147-7 (de Grandhomme 15) Drinks now, with Taylor’s wicket, and New Zealand are in strife. Santner in next.

A brilliant spell of bowling by Lyon! He’s been all over Taylor, making the batmsan look increasingly anxious. Taylor misses a sweep, which is his shot to get off strike. Lyon looks especially dangerous when the ball doesn’t turn, going on past Taylor’s edge. Taylor nails a rare half-volley but Travis Head dives and saves it one-handed at cover before bouncing up and hitting the stumps direct, nearly snaring Taylor as the batsman dives back in. That’s a team-lifting effort, and frustrating for the batsman. So Taylor, back in his shell, just prods in defence at the last ball of the over, a delivery full enough to reach for and drive, but instead the batsman hangs back and when the ball doesn’t turn it takes his edge to slip! Chalk up part of that wicket to Travis Head, but it was exceptional from Lyon. You could feel the tension building for Taylor, and now it breaks.

45th over: New Zealand 147-6 (Taylor 80, de Grandhomme 15) Marnus settling into his work, and he’s getting some turn with his leggies. Trying to land just outside off stump to force drives through the off side. Both batsmen take him up on it, taking singles to the cover sweeper. There’s one slip in, Smith there. A short third man in Warner and a backward point in Burns. A regulation cover, then Head back on the rope. Strong off-side field. Three singles from the over.

44th over: New Zealand 144-6 (Taylor 78, de Grandhomme 14) Lyon, with his nude pate shining in the sun, his arms swinging across his body like a clock’s before he unfurls at the bowling crease. This time de Grandhomme’s first-ball shot is worth two, playing it behind point this time. The batsmen trade singles, couple of yelps for a catch as de Grandhomme plunges forward to defend balsl that are bouncing substantially.

43rd over: New Zealand 140-6 (Taylor 77, de Grandhomme 11) Again de Grandhomme gets off strike first ball with a drive, and Taylor soaks up the rest of the Labsuchagne over. Lots of encouragement from Paine behind the stumps.

42nd over: New Zealand 139-6 (Taylor 77, de Grandhomme 10) The double spin attack now, with Lyon partnering Marnus. In an ideal world New Zealand would like to be able to go after these two, hit them out of the attack, and put the pressure back on Australia by making their fast bowlers come back and exhaust themselves. But with six wickets down NZ can’t take that risk.

Tell you what, they won’t have much chance of hitting Lyon anywhere based on that first over. A single first up to de Grandhomme, but Taylor gets a hand grenade that explodes back through the gate, then a ball that keeps its line and bounces over the attempted cut.

41st over: New Zealand 138-6 (Taylor 77, de Grandhomme 9) Indeed, here’s the first bowling change already. Labuschagne’s leg-breaks will be the next on the menu. Jeet Raval’s part-time stuff got substantial turn yesterday. Marnus is more of a skiddy bowler, faster through the air and with more topspin. He drags down first ball and Taylor pulls two runs, denied two more by a good diving save behind square. Taylor cuts a run next ball. I wonder how long de Grandhomme can restrain himself from trying to put Labuschagne in the stands. He drives a single along the ground first up. Taylor cuts twice and should have eight runs really, but finds backward point both times.

40th over: New Zealand 134-6 (Taylor 74, de Grandhomme 8) Cummins carries on with the short-pitched attack to Taylor, too much angle on these bouncers from the right-armer which go across Taylor and almost outside leg stump. Tim Paine is going as far towards a Douglas Jardine field as the rules allow: two in the deep behind square leg, then three just in front, one next to the batsman for the edge off the pad, one at regulation square for the top edge, and one on the rope for the full-blooded pull. Regardless, Taylor keeps playing the shot. Not the smartest strategy given Australia’s two premier quicks will need a break soon. But he gets a single to ground, then de Grandhomme slams a full ball past the bowler in the air for four.

39th over: New Zealand 129-6 (Taylor 73, de Grandhomme 4) Another single immediately for de Grandhomme from Starc, eased behind point, then Taylor is back on strike. He hasn’t faced much, hasn’t scored much, and hasn’t looked comfortable, but he is still New Zealand’s main hope. Has to just get through this short barrage. It is a barrage though, and Taylor gloves the ball just in front of slip! Fast from Starc, hitting Taylor’s fingers on the bat handle and just dying before reaching Smith in the cordon! Good bowling. Taylor looks a little desperate as he takes on a pull shot next ball and meets fresh air, again looking every chance to glove down the leg side. Third time is also lucky, as he finally gets a pull shot out of the middle, Starc’s bouncer not getting up above chest high, and Taylor clobbers four behind square. Then he bails out of another against a great short ball that zings over his front shoulder on its angle across him. Yet another pull shot finishes the over, this one mistime and limping away in the air for a fortunate run.

38th over: New Zealand 123-6 (Taylor 68, de Grandhomme 3) New Zealand’s next hope is Colin de Grandhomme, and Mitch Santner in next just made his first Test hundred the other week against England. Tough task for them up against Cummins and Starc though. The new batsman gets started with a drive through cover for three. He tends to like to get on with things.

Another good bit of bowling from Cummins! He’s been landing the ball on a perfect length often today, and moving it into the right-handed batsmen. This time Watling is anticipating that inward movement, pushing to cover it, and the ball goes a bit the other way. Suddenly his hands are outside the line of his body and he’s getting a thick inside edge back onto his stumps! Huge wicket, Watling can bat some seriously long hours in Test cricket.

37th over: New Zealand 119-5 (Taylor 68, Watling 2) Starc bowling with a bat-pad catcher on both sides of the wicket now, so the bowler has to do the fielding himself when Taylor pushes a run towards mid-on. Watling plays more decisively, a handsome off-drive for two as Starc pitches up. Wade doing the fielding. He might be called upon with the ball again today, with Australia short of seam options. Starc full again to Watling, with the short leg removed. There’s some excitement behind the wicket as Watling misses his next drive, but the sound was bat hitting turf, missing ball by a distance.

36th over: New Zealand 116-5 (Taylor 67, Watling 6) Cummins bowls a beauty. One ball after Watling drives a full ball down the ground for four, Cummins gets a ball to hit a crack, seam in at the batsman, and keep low. The pitch is starting to break up on this third day, with cracking along the length of the wicket in true Perth style. Hard not to love this new stadium’s surface.

35th over: New Zealand 112-5 (Taylor 67, Watling 2) Taylor is starting rusty this morning. Short down leg side again from Starc, and Taylor wafts a pull that doesn’t threaten much except a glove to the keeper. Starc has a leg gully and a long leg behind square, then a short square leg and a deep square leg in front of the line. Only two fielders allowed behind square leg, as per the old Bodyline amended rules.

All of that planning, then New Zealand nearly hand over a wicket with a run-out. Paine has made a mess of that. So did Taylor. He should have run himself out last night while batting with Williamson, and this time he burns Watling. Taylor knocks away a run to point, turns for the second, Watling honours the call, then Taylor bails out and turns back. Watling has to do the same, at the striker’s end. He’s miles out. He’s gone. Lyon throws in. And then Paine, having come up to the stumps, fumbles the take. I think he was distracted by Labuschagne, who had run in from short leg to the stumps to try to take the ball as well. Between the two of them they mess up a straightforward chance, and Watling survives. He adds a single next ball like none of that ever happened.

34th over: New Zealand 110-5 (Taylor 66, Watling 1) Pat Cummins starts from the other end, and his first ball is beautifully on the money. A hint of movement, snaking in at the off stump, making Watling defend. His second, a similar line but seaming in from a slightly shorter length, taking a small nick from Watling’s inside edge before thudding into the pad. Too high to prompt an appeal. Fuller next ball and Watling digs at it. A maiden.

33rd over: New Zealand 110-5 (Taylor 66, Watling 1) We’re away! Watling to face the first ball, Starc bowling it. A low full toss that Watling blocks, then a ball on his pads that the Kiwi keeper can knock away to get off the mark. Taylor comes on strike and immediately Starc is bouncing him. Ricky Ponting on the TV is analysing vision from last night, saying that Taylor was least assured against the short ball. Took his eyes off it, often had his feet off the ground. That will likely be the mode of attack today then, and it is, though Starc bowls too much down the leg side.