Image Credit- NZC
What transpires in
Christchurch over the next few days will determine the nature of New Zealand’s
home season. Their position near the top of the WTC table will be solidified
and the summer will be deemed successful if they can recover from the crushing loss
in Wellington to take a rare Test against Australia. There will be a lot of
unanswered questions before their next Test assignments in September, which
feature a one-off match against Afghanistan followed by away tours of Sri Lanka
and India. History indicates that another defeat is the most likely outcome.
Australia may be
argued to be similar in many ways. After losing to the West Indies at the
Gabba, they will have a shared series and six Test victories during the
southern hemisphere season if they depart New Zealand with a 2-0 lead. They
will also have a lot to think about before their match against India in
November.
Although it seems unlikely that New Zealand will overcome its neighbors—they
have only done so once since 1993—it would be an incredible event to do so
given that two of their best players, Tim Southee and Kane Williamson, have
both played 100 Tests.
Regarding the
future, the performances of Will O’Rourke, who is currently injured, and Rachin
Ravindra and Glenn Phillips in Wellington gave encouragement. Ben Sears is also
generating excitement, but over the next three days, a group effort is
required.
Australia has its share of problems. The top-order returns are becoming too
important to ignore, and the bowling attack is currently exerting a lot of
pressure on them. Although Cameron Green’s century in Wellington was a
significant turning point for the reformed order, a few more centuries would
not hurt Christchurch, which has plenty of time to process whatever uncertainty
may still exist before the next summer.