Smith loses his bearings in New Zealand

There was a day when Josh Hazlewood’s Test career could have ended long ago. New Zealand’s top order sincerely hoped that was the case on day one of the second Test at Hagley Oval.

Daryl Mitchell gave Alex Carey a suspicious glance down the pitch after he successfully navigated a risky Hazlewood lifter, almost asking, “What can you do?”

Steve Smith badly misjudged a delivery from debutant Ben Sears to be lbw. “Steve Smith has crabbed across the crease, and it’s just a misjudgement, trying to leave it,” former Black Caps batter Craig McMillan said on TVNZ. “The bat was in no position at all to play a shot. He got it wrong.”

Travis Head then fell in the final half hour but, but Australia’s innings was sustained by Marnus Labuschagne’s punchy 45 not out. Hazlewood’s precision 5-31 had been the difference between the teams.