his class the way he played tonight,” Smith said.
“He looked together and his game was in good order, and the way he played under pressure with his brother Mitch to put a partnership together was really crucial for us at that stage.”
Smith also had glowing praise for senior paceman Peter Siddle, who battled back spasms and the loss of his ailing grandmother, to take his 200th Test wicket during the Test and hit the winning runs.
“It’s always tough losing someone close to you. We got around Sidds this morning and he came out and gave it his all as well like he always does,” the skipper said.
“It was great to see him get 200 Test wickets this week, that’s an amazing feat and he should be really proud of how he performed over the last couple of days.”
Score Board
New Zealand won toss
New Zealand 1st innings 202 all-out (T Latham 50; Starc 3-24)
Australia 1st innings 224 all-out (P Nevill 66; Bracewell 3-18)
New Zealand 2nd innings 208 all-out (M Santner 45; J Hazlewood 6-70)
Score Board
Australia 2nd innings
D A Warner c Southee b Bracewell 35
J A Burns lbw b Boult 11
*S P D Smith lbw b Boult 14
A C Voges c Southee b Boult 28
S E Marsh c Taylor b Boult 49
M R Marsh c Williamson b Santner 28
†P M Nevill c Watling b Boult 10
P M Siddle not out 9
M A Starc not out 0
Extras (lb 2, w 1) 3
Total (7 wickets; 51 overs) 187
Did not bat: J R Hazlewood, N M Lyon
Fall: 1-34, 2-62, 3-66, 4-115, 5-161, 6-176, 7-185
Bowling: Southee 16-1-58-0; Boult 16-3-60-5 (1w); Bracewell 11-2-37-1; Craig 6-0-22-0; Santner 2-0-8-1
Result: Australia won by 3 wickets
Series: Australia won the 3-match series by 2-0
Test debut: M J Santner (New Zealand)
Man of the Match: J R Hazlewood (Australia)
Man of the Series: D A Warner (Australia)
Umpires: R K Illingworth (England) and S Ravi (India). TV umpire: N J Llong (England). Match referee: R S Mahanama (Sri Lanka)