Tom Blundell's brilliant hundred stands out in New Zealand's MCG defeat

New Zealand bore the brunt of a very heavy defeat at the hands of the Aussies by 247 runs in front of a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) crowd. However, Tom Blundell was one shining light for the Black Caps amidst all the darkness. He scored his second Test century in front of the MCG crowd and played a very attacking brand of cricket. He seemed to be playing on a completely different wicket against a completely different attack.

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While wickets kept on falling from one end, Blundell kept on playing his shots and ended a fantastic knock on the score of 121 of 210 balls laced with 15 boundaries. He was extremely overwhelmed by the support he got from New Zealand travelling fans as well as the home fans who gave him a thunderous round of applause and appreciation when he ended his knock. Blundell thanked the generosity of the Kiwi fans as he said in a post-match quip,

"They (travelling supporters) were pretty loud and it's fantastic to get that support away from home, so full credit to them, and it was pretty special hearing your name getting chanted out. I think they appreciated us coming over. The last few days they've been so loud and been fantastic. It's the result we didn't really want, but they kept on chanting and full appreciation to them."

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was also proud of the way Blundell batted and showed the determination and willingness to bat when all the others around him faltered. He is hopeful that the entire team will learn from Blundell's knock and will present more fight in the next Test. "Tom's innings was magnificent," Williamson said after the game.

"It was hard work out there and the task was immense, but you look at some small positives and that was a truly fantastic innings. He led the way and it's important that we all take a little bit from that," he asserted.