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Australia's wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey hailed his compatriot Mitchell Marsh and emphasized the importance of his role during their match-winning stand of 140 runs in the second Test against New Zealand.
Australia looked out of the game after the departure of Travis Head, leaving Australia in a precarious situation with the scoreboard reading 80/5 during their chase of 279 runs. Both batters from that point took the fight against the opposition and their form allowed Australia to exercise control in the match that ended Monday. They were able to negate the threat posed by New Zealand's star pace duo of Tim Southee and Matt Henry to guide Australia to a three-wicket win. "Yeah, I'm thrilled. Was a great series, this game ebbed and flowed. Back against the wall last night, they came hard and put us under pressure. So nice to get home. Two quality bowlers in Tim (Southee) and Matt Henry, they were superb, the ball was nipping around, but Mitch took them on and took the pressure off me. His intent was amazing," Carey said after the game. Travis, whose wicket put Australia on the backfoot, has established himself as a player who can pick up runs against the run of play as well as the conditions. He tried to get off to a start to take off the pressure but ended up losing his wicket to Southee after scoring 18 off 43 deliveries. Travis's intent echoed the message that the player received before the beginning of the day, which was to keep the scoreboard ticking. "The message this morning was let's go out there and play our way if you see an opportunity, take it. (It was) backs against the wall this morning, they came out last night and really put us under the pump so it's nice to chase those runs down. We knew they were the threats early, the ball was nipping around and I thought Mitch Marsh's intent was outstanding and sort of got us going a little bit but, it was certainly tough early," Carey added. Coming to Day 4 action, Australia resumed their innings from 77/4 with Travis Head (17*) and Mitchell Marsh (27*) unbeaten on the crease. With Australia reduced to 80/5, a match-winning partnership between Marsh (80) and Carey (98*) yielded the desired result for Australia. Carey was adjudged as the Player of the Match. Australia ended the series 2-0 following their three-wicket win. (ANI)
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