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Ashton Agar and Jayden Goodwin played important innings before the new ball struck early in Tasmania’s second innings

AAP03-Nov-2024A superb century from Hilton Cartwright helped lift Sheffield Shield champions Western Australia to a near-unbeatable position against Tasmania at Bellerive Oval.Cartwright, who survived a highly contentious caught-behind decision the previous evening on 38, struck 153 to lift WA to 460 for 9 dec for a first-innings lead of 143 on day three.Related

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Tasmania were unable to survive six testing overs late on to be 10 for 2 at stumps on Sunday. Openers Jake Weatherald, sharply caught at mid-on from a pull, and Caleb Jewell, cleaned up by an excellent delivery from Joel Paris, both failed to survive after over five sessions in the field.It was Cartwright’s ninth first-class century, with his 278-ball knock containing 18 fours. The right-hander enjoyed century partnerships with Jayden Goodwin and then Ashton Agar to take the game away from the home side.It was another grinding day for Tasmania’s bowlers with WA failing to rise above three runs an over in an innings of 161 overs.Goodwin, who resumed on 73, fell six runs short of a second first-class century as he and Cartwright put on 148 for the third wicket. The partnership had lifted WA to within 51 runs of Tasmania’s first innings 317 for the loss of only two wickets when Matthew Kuhnemann made the crucial breakthrough.Kuhnemann slipped a looping delivery past Goodwin’s hitherto impeccable defences to bowl the No. 3 and end a 202-ball stay at the crease.Opening bowler Gabe Bell then briefly threatened to change the momentum of the contest with wickets in successive overs. Captain Ashton Turner was bowled for 1 before wicketkeeper Joel Curtis was trapped lbw for the same score as WA went to lunch at 293 for 5.But Cartwright and Agar halted Tasmania’s mini revival with a 158-run sixth wicket stand. Cartwright eventually edged to wicketkeeper Jake Doran off Kuhnemann, and the left-arm spinner then trapped Agar lbw for 74. Kuhnemann was eventually rewarded for his 43 overs of toil with 5 for 100.WA went into the match on the back of a six-wicket win against Tasmania a fortnight ago and boasting a slim advantage at the top of the table after two rounds.

Bears recover from 32 for 4 thanks to Alex Davies’ run-a-ball 123

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay10-Aug-2025Warwickshire 291 for 8 (Davies 123, Smith 50) beat Northamptonshire 229 (Bartlett 47, Broad 43, Tazeem 5-43) by 62 runsAlex Davies’ accomplished century and Tazeem Ali’s skilful five-for powered Warwickshire to a 62-run Metro Bank One-Day Cup victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks in the delightful sylvan setting of Rugby School.The Bears totalled 291 for 8, having recovered from 32 for 4 thanks to Davies’ measured 123 in as many balls. The former Lancashire batter’s second List A century was well-supported by Kai Smith (50, 50) before important late-order contributions from Michael Booth (45 not out, 25) and Jake Lintott (37, 45).Tazeem then spun the Steelbacks to destruction with 5 for 43, his maiden first-team five-for as the visitors fell well short on 229. Only George Bartlett (47, 57) and Justin Broad (43, 47) threatened to challenge the target but they each fell to 19-year-old Tazeem.Warwickshire chose to bat but suffered another dreadful start. Having imploded to 38 for 7 against Yorkshire at Scarborough in their Metro-Bank opener, this time they hit 32 for 4 as three of the top five lasted a combined five balls on the way to bagging ducks. Both Steelbacks’ opening bowlers struck twice in three balls – first Liam Guthrie as Rob Yates edged to wicketkeeper Lewis McManus and Zen Malik was lbw. Luke Procter then trapped Ed Barnard and Hamza Shaikh lbw.Davies, playing in the competition for the first time having not been signed up for The Hundred, and Smith rebuilt steadily with a stand of 109 in 16 overs. Smith reached 50 for the second time in List A cricket before dragging a reverse sweep at Rob Keogh on to his stumps.Vaansh Jani hammered Yuzvendra Chahal to point where George Bartlett took an excellent low catch but further support for Davies came from Lintott in a stand of 82 in 17 overs during which the club captain reached a 104-ball century to warm applause from the excellent crowd at the lovely outground.Lintott hoisted Chahal to long off and Davies missed a scoop at Domnic Leech and was bowled but Booth and Tazeem added 55 from the last 29 balls to take Warwickshire close to the 300 which appeared about par.The Steelbacks reached 30 without loss but then lost two wickets in seven balls as Ricardo Vasconcelos lifted Olly Hannon-Dalby to mid off and Aadi Sharma spliced Barnard to extra cover. McManus set down roots but Tazeem flighted a beauty on to his off-stump. When Tim Robinson middled a cut at Barnard but fell to a stunning catch by Malik, it was 73 for 4.Bartlett and Broad kept the Steelbacks in the game with a stand of 80 in 15 overs but Tazeem returned to dismiss them both in successive overs. Bartlett chose the wrong ball to pull and was bowled middle stump. Broad reverse-swept straight to short third.Keogh emulated Broad and when Leech flicked Tazeem to midwicket, the England Under 19s spinner had his five-for and his team had the win they needed after starting with a defeat at Scarborough.

The ECB has reportedly given the go-ahead and is satisfied with the venues

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Sep-2024PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has appeared to confirm that the entirety of Pakistan’s three-Test series against England in October will take place in Pakistan. Speaking to reporters after inspecting development work at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, he was reported as saying Multan and Rawalpindi would host all three Tests.Naqvi’s spokesperson Mohammad Rafiullah confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the ECB has given the go-ahead to hold the series in Multan and Rawalpindi, and that they are satisfied with the venues.Construction work at multiple cricket stadiums in Pakistan has complicated the hosting situation ahead of England’s three-match series. Karachi, which was officially scheduled to host the second Test, will not do so because of renovations the National Stadium is undergoing. A Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Islamabad from October 15-16 rules out any chances of the second Test being played in Rawalpindi. The heads of several member nations are scheduled to arrive, and the security and accommodation demands that entail hosting that Test in the capital’s twin city are untenable.Related

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As a result, the PCB had mooted moving one Test out of Pakistan altogether, with Abu Dhabi being the preferred option in such a scenario. Pakistan last played there in 2018 before moving their home Tests back to Pakistan after a decade of Test cricket in the UAE. The other two UAE venues, Dubai and Sharjah, will not be available owing to the Women’s T20 World Cup in the country.While Naqvi’s comments should, in theory, rule out any notions of a Test in that series taking place outside Pakistan, there has been no official comment from the PCB at this stage. The board is yet to officially finalise venues for each of the three Test matches for this series.The pressure to do so urgently is considerable. A substantial number of England fans are expected to arrive for the series, but any logistical arrangements cannot be made until venues are finalised. England head coach Brendon McCullum also pointed out his side needed to know the venues in advance to be able to pick a squad that suited the conditions.England are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on October 2, with the first Test starting on October 7.

Rohit is now averaging 10.43 across 16 innings in first-class cricket in the 2024-25 season

S Sudarshanan23-Jan-2025Rohit Sharma’s return to the Ranji Trophy was a short-lived one – he lasted 19 balls and scored just three in Mumbai’s Group A fixture against Jammu and Kashmir at the Sharad Pawar Academy in BKC in Mumbai.Rohit, India’s Test and ODI captain who has been going through a terrible run of form, was the focus of a lot of attention in the lead-up to the game as soon as he confirmed his presence in the game with a nod and “I will” at the Champions Trophy squad announcement press conference last week. With a white floppy hat and sunglasses on, Rohit was relaxed before the game, joking with his team-mates as they warmed up with some head volleyball.But he wore a determined look as he walked out to open with his regular India opening partner in Tests, Yashasvi Jaiswal, after Mumbai’s captain Ajinkya Rahane opted to bat. To accommodate Rohit and Jaiswal at the top, Mumbai had to leave out Ayush Mhatre, who, in his debut season, has been one of Mumbai’s star performers: 408 runs from nine innings at an average of 45.33 with two centuries.It was a cool winter morning in Mumbai, a relief after a week that saw temperatures touch the mid-30s. And J&K’s opening bowlers made sure to make use of the early-morning nip.Related

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Auqib Nabi conceded a four early in the opening over but then tightened his lines; Rohit got off the mark with a single through the on side. But he was given a proper work over by Umar Nazir Mir, who bowled two successive maidens to him. Nazir maintained a consistent line outside off and varied his lengths a touch, not allowing Rohit to get going.Rohit managed to drive a Nabi delivery through the covers for a couple in the next over but once again was kept quiet by Nazir, who got his reward on his 17th ball. He bowled a length delivery on the fifth stump, with a hint of movement away from the right-hand batter. Rohit looked to play his trademark pick-up shot over midwicket but only managed to get a leading edge to the off side. Paras Dogra ran a few yards to his left from mid-off to extra cover, called loud and clear, and pouched it to end Rohit’s stay in the middle.The short stay in the middle meant that Rohit’s lean run in red-ball cricket continued. Across five home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand at home last year, he had just one half-century to show – against New Zealand in Bengaluru – with four single-digit scores across ten innings. He also had just one double-digit score in five innings in Australia, where he played in three of the five Test matches. He finished the 2024-25 Test season with a batting average of 10.93.Rohit’s first-class batting average of 10.43 across 16 innings in the 2024-25 season is the second-lowest for any batter since 2006 (for a minimum of 15 innings while batting in the top six). England’s Haseeb Hameed averaged 9.44 across 18 innings in the 2018 season.Before Rohit, Jaiswal fell. Nabi managed to get his line right against the left-hand batter, getting a couple of balls to move away. One of those narrowly missed the outside edge of Jaiswal’s bat – a muted appeal was given not out. On the next ball – the third ball of the third over – Nabi got a length ball to jag back viciously; Jaiswal was caught off-guard, and was beaten on the inside edge and hit on the back leg right in front of middle and leg. He was quite deep in the crease and the umpire took little time in raising the finger. Jaiswal, who was one of India’s most successful batters at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, dragged himself off with 4 against his name.After the close of play Nazir, who took 4 for 41, said Rohit’s wicket was a “prized” one. “A good ball is a good ball against any player, you don’t look at the stature of the player. But Rohit Sharma’s wicket is a big one, I am happy. When you dismiss an international player, it is always a prized wicket. There was some help from the surface, I tried to bowl in right areas. Rohit Sharma is a big name and his wicket was important for us and for me, personally, as well.”Nazir was part of J&K’s line-up when they defeated Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium in 2014. He had picked up four wickets in the second innings, which was why he was unfazed by having to bowl at such high-profile batters.”I slept off at 10pm last night and woke up around 7am and was quite relaxed,” Nazir said. “I tried to bowl fuller lengths because of the bounce on the surface. [When Rohit was dismissed] the first thought in my mind… I did not celebrate because I am a big fan of Rohit Sharma. If we manage to win this game, it would be a proud moment for me, and the team, because India’s captain is playing in the opposition.”

Club chairman signals intention to convert ownership model from members club

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2024Colin Graves has given the strongest indication yet that Yorkshire’s traditional member-owned status is no longer viable given their dire financial situation, saying that a process of demutualisation – the conversion of the club to a private structure model, thereby unlocking the potential for outside investment – “appears at this point essential for the club’s future”.Graves, who was re-elected as Yorkshire’s chairman for a second stint in February, helped to save the club from bankruptcy during his original tenure in 2002. As a consequence of that intervention, his family trust – which is managed by independent trustees – is still owed approximately £15 million, or almost three-quarters of the £20million of “long-term borrowing” that he claims is required to keep the club afloat.Now, in a letter circulated to members on Monday, Graves has warned that Yorkshire will be “fighting for its survival” during 2024 unless they take “swift and decisive action”.Related

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According to their latest financial results, the club recorded a trading loss of £2.7 million in 2023, including £1.9 million of “exceptional” expenses, most of which relate to the legal costs and settlements incurred during the racism scandal that had previously caused a raft of high-profile sponsors to sever ties with the club.The picture is all the more concerning for Yorkshire given that they hosted a lucrative Ashes Test in 2023. Their recent accumulated losses now stand at more than £9 million, and that picture is likely to worsen this year given that Headingley has no men’s Test scheduled for 2024, nor in 2027 or 2028, which Graves warned in his letter would amount to “double fallow” years.Despite stating in the run-up to his election as chairman that he had no plans to demutualise the club, Graves subsequently warned that “nothing can be ruled out in the future”.The prospect of private investment within English cricket is already on the table via the ECB’s discussions over the future of the Hundred. Headingley is the host venue for Northern Superchargers, and stands to be awarded a 51% equity share in the team, while Graves’ consortium at Yorkshire includes a number of the tournament’s original architects, including Sanjay Patel, the former tournament director.”As discussed at our AGM in April, the club’s current status as a mutual society continues to prove a blocker to attracting private financing,” Graves wrote in his letter. “A demutualisation – thereby converting the club to a private structure, which unlocks potential private investment – appears at this point essential for the club’s future.”My firm intention is that members’ current rights are protected and that a demutualisation would represent no change to their current interaction with YCCC,” he added. “The club would be better structured to be self-sustaining, still in existence, and to capture maximum value for YCCC from any processes such as the Hundred.”Any move to demutualise the county – a process which has already been undertaken at Hampshire, Northamptonshire and Durham – would need the involvement of at least 50% of Yorkshire’s 6,000 members with voting rights, and a 75% majority therein.

For the longest time, MI New York seemed to have done enough to win two points, but then Xavier Bartlett smashed them for a 25-ball 59 not out

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jun-2025Xavier Bartlett walked out at No. 8 against MI New York, with San Francisco Unicorns at 108 for 6 in 12.2 overs, still 74 behind. Before this game, he had a T20 batting average of 14.10 and a strike rate of 108.50. On Sunday, he smashed a bowling attack headlined by Trent Boult, Naveen-ul-Haq, Michael Bracewell and Ehsan Adil for four fours and five sixes on his way to an unbeaten 25-ball 59. And with it, Unicorns snatched a win that was MINY’s for the taking, and were three wins out of three and strong at the top of the MLC 2025 points table.For Unicorns, chasing 183 for victory, Finn Allen was gone in the second over, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Sanjay Krishnamurthi in the third and fourth respectively, and Cooper Connolly on the last ball of the powerplay, which ended at 42 for 4. MINY were very much on top and it felt like their first win of the season was just a matter of time.But Hassan Khan, who had earlier conceded 54 runs in his four overs, then joined Tim Seifert. Seifert had been waging a lone battle till then, but Hassan provided the impetus, contributing 43 runs in 17 balls in their 64-run stand in just 31 balls. Despite that, when Bartlett walked out and Unicorns lost captain Corey Anderson soon after, MINY were still favourites. Till they were hit by the Bartlett blitz.Earlier, after being asked to bat, MINY rode on Quinton de Kock’s 38-ball 63 at the top of the order and cameos from Kieron Pollard and Sunny Patel to get to a competitive total.De Kock scored his 63 from just 38 balls, but there was little from the other end while he was around, and when he was dismissed in the 12th over, with the scoreboard reading 102 for 4, it seemed like MINY would stop under par. But Pollard slammed four sixes in a nine-ball 16th over from Hassan to turn the tide and Sunny chipped in with an unbeaten 11-ball 20 from No. 8. For a long time, it seemed like the total would be enough but Bartlett ensured it wasn’t so.

The left-arm spinner will now have to undergo testing with CA saying he will be supported throughout the process

Andrew McGlashan12-Feb-20250:51

Lyon: ‘Kuhnemann has been our best bowler’

Left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann has been reported for a suspect action following Australia’s Test series in Sri Lanka.Kuhnemann, who claimed 16 wickets in the two matches in Galle, will now have to undergo independent testing at an ICC-accredited centre with Brisbane the likely location. Bowlers are permitted 15 degrees of flex in their actions.Related

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It is the first time in a professional career which began in 2017 that Kuhnemann’s action has been called into question. He is able to continue playing domestic cricket while his action is assessed and while he hasn’t been included in Tasmania’s squad for Thursday’s One-Day Cup match he could feature in the next of the Sheffield Shield.Should he fail the assessment in the coming weeks he would be banned from bowling until remedial work is undertaken and the corrections are approved.”The Australian team was notified of the match officials’ referral following the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle and will support Matt through the process of clearing this matter,” a CA spokesperson said.”Matt has played 124 professional matches since his debut in 2017, including five Test matches and four One-Day Internationals. He has played 55 Big Bash League games since 2018.”This is the first time in those eight years of professional cricket that his action has been questioned.Matt Kuhnemann played a major part in Australia’s success•Getty Images

“Cricket Australia will liaise closely with the ICC and independent experts in line with ICC regulations. No further comment will be made by Cricket Australia or Matthew until the matter is resolved.”Kuhnemann was lauded as Australia’s best bowler in the Sri Lanka series by Nathan Lyon after the duo teamed up to take 30 off the 40 wickets in the 2-0 series sweep.He faced a race against time to be fit for the tour after breaking his thumb in the BBL in mid-January but made a remarkable recovery to be able to take his place in the side.There were no concerns raised about Kuhnemann’s action in the first Test.An ICC media release said: “Australia’s left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann has been reported with a suspect bowling action during the second match of their ICC World Test Championship series against Sri Lanka in Galle.”The match officials’ report cited concerns about the legality of the 28-year-old’s bowling action. Kuhnemann will undergo an Independent Assessment of his bowling action at an ICC Accredited Testing facility to determine the legality of his bowling action.”Kuhnemann has taken 25 wickets in five Tests at an average of 22.20.

Warwickshire bundled out for 78 on home soil

ECB Reporters Network17-Sep-2024Essex’s seamers bowled Warwickshire out for just 78 to take immediate control of their Vitality County Championship match at Edgbaston.Put in on a bowler-friendly track, the home side was skittled in 27.4 overs by Shane Snater – with 5 for 13 – Jamie Porter and Sam Cook. Sustained resistance came only from Will Rhodes (29) on his last home appearance before joining Durham.Essex then dipped to 50 for 5 but recovered to close the opening day on 189 for 9 thanks to astute contributions from Michael Pepper (37), Snater (33 not out) Matt Critchley (32) and Simon Harmer (31). Ed Barnard took 3 for 36 and Craig Miles 3 for 53 but a lead of 111 already looks decisive.Essex have laid the platform for a second successive emphatic win while Warwickshire’s supporters digest one last moderate instalment of a deeply uninspiring home championship campaign.Porter and Olly Hannon-Dalby started the day as the country’s joint leading wicket-takers on 46 and the former took just 16 balls to move to 48 by removing Warwickshire’s openers; Rob Yates lbw and Alex Davies caught at third slip. When Sam Hain, trapped in the crease, was lbw to Cook, Warwickshire were 18 for 3.Eighteen-year-old Hamza Shaikh got stuck in for 37 balls for eight runs before Snater struck twice in seven balls. Shaikh’s off-stump was sent flying and Barnard’s would have been if his pads hadn’t been in the way.Rhodes, warmly applauded to the crease by supporters aware of the void he will leave in Warwickshire’s top order, eked 29 from 98 minutes of toil before edging a peach of an away-cutter from Snater to wicketkeeper Pepper. Any Bears’ hope of recovery vanished with the last ball of the morning when Cook knocked out Michael Burgess’s middle stump.From 73 for 7 at lunch, the innings imploded in another 16 balls, Snater wrapping it up with an lbw decision against Hannon-Dalby to secure his eighth first-class five-for.Batting remained troublesome at first when Essex replied and they lost Robin Das, lbw to Hannon-Dalby, to the 13th ball. Westley decided that positivity was the solution and struck seven fours in a 22-ball 30 but was then also trapped in front by the big Yorkshireman.When Barnard broke through twice in three balls – Dean Elgar caught at first slip and Paul Walter played on – and Noah Thain edged Chris Rushworth airily to second slip, Essex were 50 for 5, but the lower order batted wisely and patiently as the pitch eased in the late afternoon sunshine.Critchley reined in his attacking instincts, taking 23 balls to get off the mark, and with Pepper added 55 in 18 overs against an attack which lost Rushworth injured. Critchley edged Barnard to second slip and Pepper leading-edged a return catch to Miles but Harmer and Snater added a valuable 39.Miles removed Harmer and Cook in three balls but Snater’s cameo, including three successive fours off Miles, lifted the lead over 100.

Says the focus is now on the short turnaround between England defeat and upcoming fixture against USA

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-20243:17

Rapid fire: Should WI bring in McCoy or Shamar?

Daren Sammy told his West Indies team to put their eight-wicket loss to England “in the garbage” and insisted that they can still win an unprecedented third men’s T20 World Cup.West Indies set England 181 to win in St Lucia – at the ground bearing Sammy’s name – but only took two wickets as the defending champions cruised home with 15 balls to spare, thanks primarily to Phil Salt and Jonny Bairstow’s unbroken 97-run partnership for the third wicket. Sammy said that only on a flat pitch, his team were “about 25 runs short” of a winning total.”It’s part of the game,” Sammy said. “This loss will not dampen our spirits. We still believe we’ve got a team that could win this World Cup, and that’s what I’ll tell the guys inside when I speak to them: park this game, put it in the garbage. And we move forward to Barbados where we win against the USA, and then we have South Africa in Antigua on Sunday.”No-one said it was going to be easy. There are good teams in the tournament. Today, we came up against the defending champions and they got the better of us. But that doesn’t mean our tournament is over. Our destiny is in our own hands, and I feel I’ve got the 15, the group of men, that we believe that this tournament, we could win.”Related

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West Indies made two changes to the side that thrashed Afghanistan on Monday, reverting to the XI that beat New Zealand in Trinidad. Roston Chase and Romario Shepherd – who missed Monday’s game on paternity leave – replaced Shai Hope and Obed McCoy, who took 3 for 14 against Afghanistan and was unfortunate to miss out.”We could talk about it now in hindsight, but I’ve said it from day one: we have 15 potential match-winners,” Sammy said. “Obed did bowl well [against Afghanistan] but if you look at what Shepherd has done for us over the last year in T20 cricket, what he brings to the team, we thought going against them, especially the potential line-up England could have and the dual rule that he brings [was the right option].”West Indies are bottom of the nascent points table in Group 2 of the Super Eight and will almost certainly require wins against both USA and South Africa to qualify for next week’s semi-finals. “We did not execute our plans well enough – a couple of chances here and there – but in a tournament, there’s a game where the opposition will get the better of you,” Sammy said.”But that doesn’t mean we’re out of it. Now, in order to win, we’ve got to win all our matches and that’s what we’ll focus on. We’ll leave this game right here in St Lucia. It’s a short turnaround: we go to Barbados tomorrow and on Friday we have a game against the USA. We’ll meet as a selection group and see how best we could further improve our team based on the conditions.”

“We’ll see,” he said after the loss to Australia. “Obviously you go to Asia [later this year], the make-up of the side changes”

Alex Malcolm11-Mar-20241:23

Southee: ‘Changing times for NZ as a Test side’

Tim Southee has conceded there’s no guarantee he will captain New Zealand’s next set of Test matches when they head to the subcontinent for to face Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and India later in the year.Southee cut a dejected figure after a heartbreaking three-wicket loss to Australia in Christchurch. New Zealand had Australia 34 for 4 and 80 for 5 defending 278, but were unable to finish the job as Alex Carey, Mitchell Marsh and Pat Cummins guided the visitors home.It means New Zealand’s 13-year winless streak in Tests against Australia is set to extend while their 31-year drought at home against their neighbour becomes interminable with no future tour scheduled at the moment.Southee put his own form under the microscope before his 100th Test, at Hagley Oval, saying he had not taken the wickets he would have liked. He took just four for the series even as Matt Henry, Ben Sears and Will O’Rourke all bowled impressively throughout.Related

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Southee captained New Zealand’s most recent Tests in Bangladesh last year when they only picked two seamers and he is aware that his position is vulnerable.”We’ll see,” Southee said. “Obviously you go to Asia, the make-up of the side changes slightly with spin becoming the main threat in that part of the world. But we’ll see when we get there. We’ll deal with this tonight and look to move forward to what’s to come.”Southee’s captaincy came under the microscope on day four in Christchurch as Australia wriggled their way out of trouble.He opted not to bowl Glenn Phillips until the last over before lunch after Marsh and Carey had already reached their half-centuries and the pair had shared a 94-run unbeaten stand. Phillips had picked up both men already in the series, including Carey twice. He almost had Marsh out lbw on the stroke of lunch but was saved by an inside edge.Southee said there was enough there for the seamers that enticed him to stick with pace through the first 90 minutes of the rain-shortened session.”Hindsight is a wonderful thing,” Southee said. “But I think the amount of times we went past the bat in that first session, we felt that seam was the option. We created a few chances through that first session. I think we felt that seam was the right move.”He also defended the selection of Scott Kuggeleijn who only bowled three overs in the second innings despite being selected as a specialist bowler. Kuggeleijn only conceded 10 runs off the bat but his maiden included critical extras of four byes and six leg byes from three balls that were angled down the leg side.”He’s been a been a standout performer at domestic level,” Southee said. “He added a very valuable 40-odd runs for us batting in that No.8 position and when you play the four seamers you’re looking for someone who can bat a bit.”Scott’s got a handful of first-class hundreds and we saw how valuable that 40-odd runs were.”Disappointing with the ball. But I think he’s still chimed in with a couple of important wickets in the first Test in Wellington and 40-odd runs here. It’s tough for everyone to play a role at times.”Southee also refused to blame his side’s fielding as a reason for the loss. They dropped critical catches in Wellington and Rachin Ravindra’s drop of Marsh in the second over on Monday morning proved very costly.Marsh was 28 at the time and went on to make 80. Although Southee did note that without the drop, which also cost a single, they may not have got Travis Head out next ball.”Guys don’t mean to drop catches,” Southee said. “Everyone works hard on the fielding. Obviously that one went down early in the day. But if we take that then we don’t get the wicket the next ball and who’s to say Head doesn’t go on and have an innings like Marsh. You look back on a number of things. But the guys work hard on their fielding.”Southee denied his side had a mental block against Australia but he couldn’t put his finger on why they continued to struggle in the crunch moments against them.”I’m not too sure,” Southee said. “They’re a tough side to beat, not only in Australia, but when they travel as well.”I think when you play the best you’ve got to be at your best for those periods, that little bit longer. We had moments through both Test matches where we could have been a little bit better at times and then things could have been slightly different. But it was just another great Test and there’s been plenty of those over the last few years.”