The bumps and bruises faded after the gap between the first and second Tests as the battle between Mathew Wade and Neil Wagner continued on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday.
In the first Test at Perth, Wade indulged in a contest with Kiwi pacer Wagner. The New Zealander kept on bowling the short balls targeting the shoulder of Wade. However, the left-handed batsman didn’t bow down to the challenge and took some mighty blows on his body.
"Keep coming, big boy."
Not often you see the batsman sledging the bowler! #AUSvNZ pic.twitter.com/evIMv7PCYR
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 15, 2019
Again, in the second Test, the exciting combat between Wagner and Wade started right after the dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne. The left-arm pacer greeted the Aussie player with standard short pitch deliveries.
During the 61st over of Australia’s innings, Wagner bowled a short ball towards Wade. The Aussie batter, instead of playing the ball, decided to duck, but it hit his helmet.
Wagner’s delivery struck on the back of Wade’s helmet, and after the deflection, the ball went straight into the fine leg region for four.
The Wade v Wagner battle continues! #AUSvNZ | https://t.co/Q5Lvt45rWO pic.twitter.com/uJTNdqYo8q
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 26, 2019
The battle between the two continued until Colin de Grandhomme, who sent Labuschagne back to the pavilion, took the wicket of Wade.
De Grandhomme bowled a juicy length ball outside off, and Wade reached out to guide the delivery towards cover, but it ricocheted a thick outside edge to wicketkeeper BJ Watling who completed the catch.
After generating a lot of plays and misses and close calls, Colin de Grandhomme finally gets Matthew Wade's wicket to celebrate! #OhWhatAFeeling @toyota_aus | #AUSvNZ pic.twitter.com/g9dtwJDvmF
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 26, 2019
