Mitchell Starc finishes with nine wickets in Perth Test as Australia crush New Zealand

Aussies register mammoth 296-run win in day-night Test on fourth day itself

Australia quick Mitchell Starc was declared man of the match for his nine wickets in the Perth Test against New Zealand. Getty Images

Australia registered one of their biggest wins over New Zealand as they clinched the Perth Test by 296 runs on Sunday.

The Kiwis were set a mammoth target of 468 after the hosts declared their innings on 217-9. The writing was on the wall when the visitors lost their first wicket after just six runs. They failed to take the match into a fifth day as Mitchell Starc (4-45) and Pat Cummins (2-31) cleaned up the tail under lights.

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon took 4-63 as New Zealand were dismissed for 171, the last five wickets falling for just 17 runs.

Starc, who picked up nine wickets in the match, and Cummins used the pink ball to good effect under lights to bring the match to a quick end.

The chase started poorly, with opener Jeet Raval making just one before being caught at gully by Lyon off Starc. Captain Kane Williamson made 14 before falling to Lyon's first ball of the innings, caught at short leg pushing at a ball that bounced and turned sharply.

Ross Taylor was the Kiwis' last real hope but was out for 22 after he tried to pull Starc and got a bottom edge through to wicketkeeper Tim Paine. With his dismissal, the Kiwis were down to 57-3 and the result a mere formality.

After the match, man-of-the-match Starc lauded the effort of the bowling unit to get 20 wickets in temperatures approaching 40 degree Celsius.

"Tougher than normal to bowl in this heat, so full credit to the group," Starc said. "Even the part-timers did a great job for us."

Starc said the work he put into tweaking his bowling action before the start of the season is beginning to produce results.

"It's going alright for me, I have a clear mindset. I made a couple of technical changes working with Andre Adams at New South Wales, which has worked. Now it's a days off, play a bit of golf, rest up and prepare for the Boxing Day Test."