- Was chasing 12th Test century after tight race
- He played error-free cricket until the strange dismissal.
- Australia remains in the lead in the second test
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The frustrating wait for a 12th Test century continues for Marnus Labuschagne, courtesy of a strange field that ended his charge in the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington.
Labuschagne, playing his 50th Test, scored an excellent 90 and looked set for a ton of fight until Glenn Phillips was shouted down in the gully to take him out.
Darting towards his right, New Zealand’s most athletic fielder extended his right hand and took the catch to the surprise of cricket fans around the world.
It was a surprising dismissal, but a brutal way for Labuschagne to lose his wicket after playing error-free cricket all morning.
Labuschagne couldn’t believe his luck after being dismissed for a rare catch when his 12th Test century was in sight.
“That was a blinder by Glen Phillips to get rid of Marnus in the 90th over. It doesn’t get any better,” posted one shocked cricket fan.
‘Build the team around Glen Phillips. What an athlete. What a player,” another posted.
“Glen Phillips is my favorite cricketer for so many reasons,” added another.
Labuschagne top-scored for the Australians with his defiant 90, his highest Test score in 15 strokes, after surviving an earlier shout from LBW to reach his half-century.
The 29-year-old’s knock was a nice tonic for a recent run of outs, coming into the Hagley Oval test with six innings of 10 runs or less.
He was dismissed at lunch on a score of 8-221, a lead of 59 runs, before Australia’s late winners took the total to 256, comfortably ahead of New Zealand’s 162 on the first day.
The Kiwis had every reason to celebrate Labuschagne’s wicket as it brought them back into the match after the Aussies had threatened to take them out of the match.
Australia’s lead came on the back of a powerful strike from Henry, who finished with 7-67 at home.
Henry added nightwatchman Nathan Lyon (20) and Mitch Marsh (duck) to his first day scalp before lunch.
After the main break he dismissed Mitchell Starc (28) caught behind and Pat Cummins (23) lbw for the second seven-wicket effort of his career.
The 32-year-old, who bats at nine, is New Zealand’s leading run-scorer and leading wicket-taker in the two-Test series.
In response, New Zealand went 1-43 at tea.
Australia led the two-Test series 1-0 after a 172-run victory at the Wellington Basin Reserve last week, and have already retained the Trans-Tasman Trophy.