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Auckland
11 - 15 March 2000
Australia won the toss and elected to bat. The first session saw some tight bowling, but anything loose was thrashed and by lunch, the honours were favoured the home side with the score 3 for 97. Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals and the Australians were dismissed for 214 after tea. Mark Waugh (72*) top scored while Vettori claimed 5 for 62 to be the best of the bowlers. New Zealand then batted out the rest of the evening session with the bonus of two dropped catches, but surrendered their advantage by losing 4 wickets for a 26 run total.
On the second morning, Australia pressed their advantage and dismissed New Zealand after lunch for 163 runs and a deficit of 51 runs. Cairns top scored with 35 while McGrath captured 4 wickets for 33 runs. Australia then set about compiling a final innings target for the home side. However, it was not to be plain sailing with New Zealand showing a never-say-die attitude to have the visitors 5 for 114 at stumps and an overall lead of 165 runs.
Gilchrist and Martyn resumed on a rain affected third day adding 67 vital runs for the partnership before Martyn fell to Vettori. This gave Vettori his 100th test scalp and the record for the youngest spinner to achieve this mark. Gilchrist (59) top scored in the innings total of 229 when it ended shortly before tea, setting a victory target for the home team of 281. Vettori took 7 for 87 to give him match figures of 12 for 149 and a place behind only Sir Richard Hadlee, who took 15 for 123 in Brisbane to hold the Kiwi record.
With the chance to put a stop to the Australian?s winning streak the New Zealand batsmen had up to 13 sessions to make the 281 needed for victory. However, they started disastrously, losing 4 for 43 before recovering slightly to end the day at 5 wickets for 151 runs - still requiring 130 for what was seeming an increasingly unlikely victory.
The fourth day ironically was washed out due to persistent rain. After a further 90-minute rain delay on the fifth morning play resumed and McMillan (78) led the quest for victory and top scored for New Zealand. After losing Cairns early they struggled to be 6 for 183 at lunch and only 98 runs required. Parore fell soon after the brake and then McMillan's was dismissed while still needing 77 more runs and signalled the end of their victory hopes. Warne ended the innings and in so doing moved to 356 test wickets, passing Dennis Lillie's Australian wicket taking record (355). Additionally, the current team equalled the Australian record for most consecutive test victories (8) set by Warwick Armstrong's team in the early 1920's. Colin Millar managed a career best 5 for 55 to be the most successful bowler.
Second Test
Wellington
24 - 27 March 2000
New Zealand won the toss and followed the pattern by batting first. At 5 for 66 shortly before lunch, it appeared to be a questionable decision. After lunch, Cairns (109) with Astle (61) with the assistance of a "life" each, led a fight back and New Zealand posted a total of 298 shortly before stumps. Warne added another 4 victims to his record total for 68 runs. Australia then lost Blewett and nightwatchman Warne in the seven overs before stumps for 29 runs.
The second day suffered from rain interruptions and saw Australia slump early to 4 for 51 in a similar way to the home side's first innings. It was Slater (143) and Steve Waugh (109* overnight) who recovered the initiative for the tourists with a fifth wicket partnership of 199. Both batsmen had some luck, Slater survived a close LBW call early and Waugh had a missed stumping opportunity. By the time bad light ended the day, Australia looked in command at 5 for 318 and a lead of 20.
New Zealand fought back in the third morning to finish the innings at lunch for 419 and a deficit of 121 runs. Waugh ran out of partners and top scored with 151* while Cairns (3 for 110 off 26.3 overs) and McMillan (3 for 57 off 23 overs) shared the bowling honours. After Lunch, the Kiwis managed to get the score to 43 before losing two wickets without further addition. By tea the score was 3 for 69. In the evening session, Fleming (60) lead a small fight back with Cairns to be 5 for 189 and a lead of 68 by stumps. However, to win the game would require a dedicated effort from these two batsmen.
The fourth morning saw the early departure of both top scoring Cairns (69) and Fleming. The tail then managed to fight to a total of 294 before being dismissed just after lunch. With Vettori unable to bowl due to a stress fracture in his back, the Australians reached the victory target of 174 runs for the loss of 4 wickets shortly before the scheduled stumps. Top score was Langer with 57, while O'Connor was the most successful bowler taking 2 for 42.
Third Test
Hamilton
31 March - 3 April 2000
Australia won the toss and sent New Zealand in to bat. The decision paid dividends when McGrath and Lee had sent 4 batsmen back to the dressing room for a total of 74 runs by lunch. However, the Kiwi fight back was lead by McMillan (79) and Cairns (37) after lunch. The departure of McMillan at 6 for 208 after tea led to a collapse that saw the loss of the last 4 wickets for only 24 more runs. The home team was dismissed for a moderate but respectable total of 232 shortly before stumps. Lee was the most successful bowler bagging 5 for 77 off 23 overs. Australia ended the day at 1 for 4 after New Zealand dismissed test recall Hayden for 2.
The second morning followed a similar pattern to the first. The Australian top order collapsed to be 5 for 29 and then 6 for 118 at lunch. New Zealand failed to make the killer blow in the afternoon session when Martyn (89*) and Gilchrist (75) steadied the ship smacking 31 boundaries. Australia managed to limp to a total of 252 and a 20 run first innings lead at tea. For New Zealand, O'Connor was the most successful bowler with 5 for 51 off 15.5 overs. New Zealand lost only one wicket before wiping away the deficit and was looking good at 1 for 49. However, by stumps they were 3 for 58 and the game was swinging back into Australia's favour.
The third morning saw an 18-minute delay due to rain. The Kiwi's were not helped by this losing another three wickets before lunch to be 6 for 130 and a lead of 110 runs. After lunch, Cairns (71) fought back yet again while batting with the tail and moved the total to 229 when they were dismissed at tea. Lee again took the bowling honours with 3 for 46.
The fourth innings target for an Australian victory was 210 runs, and they seemed in a hurry to get there. Scoring at nearly 5 runs an over, Australia were 3 for 137 when bad light stopped play. They finished the job before lunch on the fourth morning to win by 6 wickets. Top scorer was Langer on 122 while O?Connor and Wiseman each took 2 wickets.
