Australia in box seat despite Phillips-led NZ fightback

New Zealand's next-generation batting star Rachin Ravindra seemingly holds the key to his team's hopes of a remarkable comeback win after Australia crumbled in the face of part-time spin today and kept the Black Caps in the game.

Set a distant 369 to record their first Test triumph over Australia on home turf for more than 30 years, following another fragile batting effort from their great rivals, NZ's task appeared even more bleak when they slumped to 3-59.

But the Black Caps and their fans enter the final two days of this Test, with showers forecast for Wellington across both, with dreams alive of their biggest fourth-innings score against Australia after an unbeaten 52-run fourth-wicket stand between Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell lifted them to 3-111 at stumps.

Ravindra, who announced himself at the recent ODI World Cup won by Australia in India, is fresh from a maiden Test ton that eventually yielded 240 against South Africa at Mount Maunganui last month.

The 24-year-old left-hander showed maturity beyond his years to respond to his first-innings duck and some fiery fast bowling early in today's knock to reach 50 in his first outing against Australia, posting the milestone with an authoritative pull to the boundary off Mitchell Starc.

Despite needing to find 68 more than their previous best fourth-innings total against Australia – which in itself brought a 175-run loss at Hamilton 14 years ago – NZ clawed themselves back from a near hopeless position on the back of Glenn Phillips' unlikely bowling exploits.

Phillips' 5-45 was the best return by an NZ spinner against Australia since current men's team assistant coach Daniel Vettori's 5-106 at Christchurch in 2005, and the best by a Black Caps' tweaker at Wellington in trans-Tasman Tests since John Bracewell's 6-85 in 1990.

But at a venue where seamers more regularly prevail on the well-grassed pitch, eight of the 11 wickets to tumble on another bowler-dominated fell to spin with Nathan Lyon (2-27) and even Travis Head (1-10) enjoying success.

Whereas Phillips deployed clever flight into a gusty nor-westerly before spinning sharply off the surface, it was the bounce Lyon was able to extract that saw him claim the first two crucial breakthroughs of NZ's victory pursuit.

Opener Tom Latham top-edged an attempted cut from Lyon's second delivery of the day, a loosener that pitched shot and wide, and NZ's greatest batter Kane Williamson was unable to smother the bounce as he tried to turn to the leg side where he was brilliantly snared by Steve Smith.

It was one of two outstanding reflex catches that Smith claimed, the second a one-handed pluck at slip as Will Young misread Head's straight ball, which was sharply at odds with the profligacy of the Black Caps who might be eyeing a rare Test win over Australia if not for four squandered opportunities.

The most costly of those was skipper Tim Southee's blemish at third slip from the final ball of day two, when Lyon was on six.

As unlikely as it seemed at the time, it proved a crucial miss as the night watch went on to top score for his team, the first time he's achieved that feat since he managed 14 out of Australia's lamentable 47 against South Africa at Cape Town in 2012.

That underscored how unproductive Australia's batting specialists again proved on a pitch where Cameron Green's unbeaten 174 remains a glorious aberration.

For the fifth time in as many completed Test innings, Australia's top six wickets failed to reach 200 with today's collapse continuing throughout the order as the reigning World Test Champions lost 6-37 in less than 13 overs after lunch to be bowled out for 164.

But while previous implosions were triggered by unknown West Indies bowling sensation Shamar Joseph at Adelaide and Brisbane, and experienced NZ seamer Matt Henry in the first innings here, today's carnage was wrought by part-time off-spinner Phillips.

The 27-year-old batting allrounder's previous best bowling return in 53 first-class appearances before today was 4-53 in spin-friendly conditions against Bangladesh at Sylhet during NZ's tour there late last year.

His bowling was deemed so discretionary he was not used as Australia piled on 383 in the first innings of this Test, even as the Black Caps searched for a way to break the last-wicket stand between Green and Josh Hazlewood that endured more than two hours yesterday.

Having top-scored in his team's reply with an adventurous 71 from 70 deliveries, Phillips was asked why he had not been summoned to the bowling crease during the 115 overs Australia faced and he claimed it was simply because of match-ups against right-handed batters.

"I'm always keen to have a bowl," Phillips said last night, before presciently foreshadowing how events might transpire today.

"I'm always keen to bowl at whatever-hand batter but the way Lyon bowled in the (NZ first) innings it definitely shows there's a little bit of turn there and who knows, maybe the second innings I might get a bit of a go."

Today's innings was 20 overs old when that opportunity came, with the seamers having conceded 55 runs in the opening hour, a majority of which were scored by Lyon in his sprightly guise as night watch.

As was the case for fellow tailender Hazlewood on the previous morning, Lyon found few difficulties against the near-new ball and took three consecutive boundaries off NZ skipper Tim Southee – either through or over the slips cordon – on his way to 41 from 46 deliveries faced.

It was his most productive Test innings since his career-high 47 in the infamous match against South Africa at Cape Town in 2018, and the 36-year-old appeared destined for a maiden half-century in his 128th appearance until he chipped a catch off his pads to mid-wicket.

As he departed Basin Reserve to warm applause, and with his team 3-53 and holding a 257-run lead, Lyon could not have imagined he would finish the innings as Australia's top scorer and be back at the bowling crease before the tea break.

But it was Phillips' first breakthrough of the day, barely half an hour after Lyon's dismissal, that unleashed another careless Australia capitulation.

After being deprived of scoring options due to canny NZ field placings, Usman Khawaja charged at Phillips and attempted to launch him over the in-field but was beaten the off-spinner's flight and sharp spin to be stumped as he furiously tried to get his bat behind the line.

Head and first innings century-maker Green negotiated a testing period prior to lunch in fading light and amid light drizzle, with Head finding fluency with a couple of well-placed boundaries while Green muscled Phillips over the mid-wicket fence.

However, the game changed dramatically shortly after Southee – for the second time in as many innings – failed to grasp a reflex return chance off a mishit Green straight drive when the allrounder was on 21.

That reprieve was cancelled out by Phillips' double strike, having Head miscue an attempted lofted drive to long off and Mitchell Marsh push hard at the next delivery to squeeze a sharp catch to short leg.

Alex Carey had no trouble negotiating the hat-trick ball which was dragged down and spun harmlessly wide of the left-hander, but succumbed soon after with an ambitious cover drive that flew at head height to one of the two fielders stationed for that precise outcome.

Like many among the sell-out crowd, Phillips could scarcely believe what was unfolding with Australia 7-139 and he completed his maiden Test five-for in his next over when he achieved what none of his specialist bowlers had managed across two innings to that point by removing Green.

That wicket sparked even wilder scenes of celebration as Phillips leapt into the arms of teammates, and came courtesy of a stunning one-handed grab by Young at short leg that was a stark contrast to the Black Caps' outfield efforts in this game and the preceding T20I series against Australia.

Pat Cummins was granted two reprieves as he tried to belt Phillips over the leg-side boundary, the first fly ball spilled by Scott Kuggeleijn as he ran to his right from long-on, and an even more straightforward chance shelled by substitute Henry Nicholls on the deep mid-wicket rope.

Nicholls had been called into service because rookie fast bowler Will O'Rourke had limped off during his eighth over with what was later diagnosed as a tight left hamstring.

But it was Henry, following his 5-70 in the first innings, who broke the spinners' hold by having Cummins caught at second slip and then tilting back Starc's leg stump to consign Australia to their lowest trans-Tasman total since they were knocked over for 136 at Hobart in 2010.

That was also the match in which NZ scored their most recent win over their close neighbour and fierce rival, but to repeat that result the Black Caps batters would need everything to fall their way on a pitch where spin was proving more problematic than pace.

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February 29 – March 4: First Test, Wellington, 9am AEDT

March 8-12: Second Test, Christchurch, 9am AEDT

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc

New Zealand Test squad: Tim Southee (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Scott Kuggeleijn, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson, Will Young.