Patient Black Caps put plans into practice

New Zealand have shown they have the plans that could unsettle Steve Smith this summer after they removed Australia's batting wizard in familiar fashion in Perth.

Smith was caught by a leg-side plan of attack on Thursday, trying to pull Neil Wagner on 43 having previously ducked several short balls from the Black Caps quick.

It means he’s now been caught close in on the leg side pulling in his two innings against New Zealand so far this year, having been dismissed in the same fashion during the World Cup.

He was also dismissed the same way in his most recent Test knock against the Black Caps, after he’d scored 138 against them in Christchurch in early 2016.

But the dismissal itself wasn’t the only piece of impressive strategy from the Black Caps, who starved the world's premier batsman of run-scoring opportunities on day one, as he spent 164 balls at the crease.

He went his first 51 balls without hitting a boundary and the innings was the slowest of his career for any innings where he has scored more than 20.

"You want to bowl your best at him and dry him up," Wagner said.

"I thought we bowled really well to him, didn't give him any width, or any room to score, try and dot him up and hopefully he would come at us.

"He didn't give us much until that shot he got out to."

The settled New Zealand side are regarded as a shrewd tactical outfit and their plan to Smith is well researched, despite having finished a series against England just last week.

The Australian was caught in that fashion in that 2016 Test by Martin Guptill off Wagner and at this year's World Cup, Guptill also took a screamer in close on the leg side off Lockie Ferguson's bowling.

Smith was also caught close on the leg side off the bowling of Stuart Broad at The Oval during the Ashes earlier this year.

Then came his crucial dismissal on Thursday, ending a 132-run third-wicket stand with century-maker Marnus Labuschagne.

"We've got him out like that before, once before, and we've seen him get out to it again," Wagner said.

"At the end of the day, you've just got to execute a plan and if it comes off, it comes off, which on the day we're happy it did."

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