Tue, Oct 08, 2024 | Rabiʻ II 4, 1446 | DXB °C

Australia in control as records tumble on the opening day of 2nd Test

David Warner celebrates his century during the opening day of the second Test against New Zealand in Perth.

David Warner celebrates his century during the opening day of the second Test against New Zealand in Perth.

Perth - After winning the toss and electing to bat, Warner's third century in as many innings saw the home side reach a commanding 416 for two at stumps against the demoralised Kiwis in what is shaping up to be a disappointingly lopsided three-Test Trans-Tasman series.

  • AFP
  • Updated: Sat 14 Nov 2015, 1:20 PM

 Opener David Warner continued his love affair with New Zealand's bowling and the WACA Ground by notching a career-best double century as Australia took total control and records tumbled on the opening day of the second Test in Perth on Friday.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Warner's third century in as many innings saw the home side reach a commanding 416 for two at stumps against the demoralised Kiwis in what is shaping up to be a disappointingly lopsided three-Test Trans-Tasman series.
At stumps Warner was unbeaten on 244, having notched the highest score by an Australian in a single day on home soil, with captain Steve Smith on five. The Australian total was the highest on the first day of a Test at the venue.
Usman Khawaja posted his second century of the series before falling just before stumps for 121 to end a 302-run stand with Warner.
That set a new second-wicket partnership mark for Australia, surpassing Arthur Morris and Don Bradman's 301-run effort at Headingley in 1948.
Already down 1-0 in the three-Test series after being thumped by 208 runs at The Gabba, the Kiwi bowlers gained little assistance from the pitch and were again on the wrong end of the decision review system. Warner cashed in to notch his 15th Test century in 45 matches and went on to post his highest score. After narrowly surviving a decision review on 78, he reached triple figures with his 12th boundary, having faced 118 balls.
It was also his fourth successive century against New Zealand, making him just the fifth batsman in history to score four hundreds in a row against the same opponent. The others in the select group are South Africa's Alan Melville and Hashim Amla, West Indian Everton Weekes and Pakistan's Shoaib Mohammad.
Warner went on to post his maiden Test double century late in the day, having faced 236 balls and hit 17 fours and two sixes in reaching the milestone.
Left-handed Warner has scored 676 runs against the Kiwis at a formidable average of 169, and has 638 runs at 127.60 at the WACA in four Tests. His total is the second biggest individual score at the ground behind Matthew Hayden's 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003 and Warner also passed 4,000 Test runs during his innings.
Warner and fellow opener Joe Burns put on 101 for the first wicket - their third century opening stand in as many innings together.
 


Next Story