Wisden
Tour review

New Zealand v Australia, 2015-16

Geoff Lemon

One-day internationals (3): New Zealand 2, Australia 1
Test matches (2): New Zealand 0, Australia 2

Over the course of a year, New Zealand mastered the art of anticlimax - against Australia, at least. It started with the 50-over World Cup, where they scythed through everyone before being deflated by their rivals in the final. Then, in October 2015, they arrived in Australia for three Tests against a side hollowed out by retirements, and lost 2-0.

In February 2016, many believed the reciprocal tour would go New Zealand's way. They had home advantage, and could serve up green pitches of the kind that had exposed Australia in England. And Brendon McCullum's imminent retirement from international cricket at the end of the series seemed to load the contest with an emotional charge. It became a farewell tour: his last one-day international, his 100th Test, and his last Test, in his home city of Christchurch, where he signed off with one final blast.

Initially results went to plan, as New Zealand won the one-day Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, contested for the first time over a full series since 2009-10. That raised expectations of a Test challenge, only for Australia to take both matches at a canter. The supposed green mamba became a brown snakeskin purse: at Wellington and Christchurch, grass cover soon gave way to slower surfaces, on which Australia - who won both tosses, so avoiding the pitches at their liveliest - swelled their batting averages, and lowered their bowling.

In a short series affording no margin for error, the New Zealanders took longer to adapt. Still, the hosts will remember the series fondly for one reason. On the first day of the Second Test, McCullum walked to the wicket through a guard of honour, and walked off with the fastest Test century, a 54-ball convulsion that surpassed by two deliveries the previous record, held jointly by Viv Richards and Misbah-ul-Haq. In his best tradition, McCullum's innings was audacious, outrageous, and largely instinctive; like many an enterprise in its final days, his philosophy was "everything must go". And so it went, in one of those displays that, decades hence, will have people reminiscing about where they were when they watched it. The fact that McCullum suffered his first home Test defeats as captain seemed incidental.

The series was notable for Australians as well. It was Steve Smith's first tour in charge, and success was a small step towards recovery from an Ashes induced crisis of confidence. With one eye on tours of Sri Lanka and India, he was keen to gain assurance away from home. Recent inclusions, such as Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja and 36-year-old Adam Voges - who ended up averaging 161 over the course of the 2015-16 Test season - felt more settled, while Jackson Bird eventually justified his reintroduction to Test cricket. And, if all-rounder Mitchell Marsh's credentials at No. 6 remained unproven, his fast bowling took stride after stride.

The clean sweep also lifted Australia back to the top of the Test rankings, matching their position in one-day internationals. This double had been Cricket Australia's long-stated aim; based as it was over four years of results, it was vindication of more than just the present line-up. But, while Australia left satisfied, New Zealand faced a long wait before their next chance at neighbourhood success.

Match reports for

1st ODI: New Zealand v Australia at Auckland, Feb 3, 2016
Report | Scorecard

2nd ODI: New Zealand v Australia at Wellington, Feb 6, 2016
Report | Scorecard

3rd ODI: New Zealand v Australia at Hamilton, Feb 8, 2016
Report | Scorecard

1st Test: New Zealand v Australia at Wellington, Feb 12-15, 2016
Report | Scorecard

2nd Test: New Zealand v Australia at Christchurch, Feb 20-24, 2016
Report | Scorecard

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