Australia romp home after New Zealand blink

We'd wondered last week about how the Christchurch test would be decided when Australia would be wobbling and Gilchrist came to the crease. He came in to bat when Australia were 201/6. When he got out, Australia were 413/7. Those 212 runs he added along with Katich came off 48 overs and effectively the moment Australia caught up with New Zealand's score, the momentum had well and truly shifted away from the Kiwis so much so that Australia won on the fourth day! Katich made 118 and held the innings together while Gilchrist raced to his century at around a run-a-ball (as if he has done something different on other occasions) and left the bowlers and fielders marvelling at his ability to turn a situation completely on its head.

The two had come together after the bowlers had done well to dismiss Ponting, Clarke and Gillespie, who must surely be on the verge of a contract with Fevicol (or insert Australian glue brand here). The southpaws' double century partnership affected the Kiwi batsmen so much that they were more than willing to reduce the burden of Australia's bowlers by willingly sticking their pad out and departing lbw. Seven were dismissed thus. Five of them got scores in excess of 15 and yet the highest score was McCullum's 24. Warne cleaned up the tail to finish with a five wicket haul and his dismissal of Hamish Marshall was his 1000^th first-class wicket. This left Australia the onerous task of making 139 to win at around a run-an-over. They cleaned up the game before the fourth day ended, with Ponting and Langer guiding them to victory with the latter surprisingly making runs in a low-target chase.

With Gillespie making up for his shoddy first innings bowling performance, the only way Brett Lee can be included is if the selectors decide to leave out Kasprowicz, but that seems quite unlikely. Perhaps he'll have a go in a dead-rubber game.