Cricket: Kane Williamson's bowl-first decision backfires against Australia

Captains Steve Smith and Kane Williamson at the coin toss. Photo / www.photosport.co.nz

Kiwi captain Kane Williamson's inexplicable decision to send Australia into bat has backfired spectacularly at Manuka Oval in Canberra.

Williamson won the toss and sent David Warner and Aaron Finch in to face the music first, despite a mountain of evidence suggesting batting first was the higher percentage play.

The delay of the game because of early showers in Canberra appears to have tricked Williamson into sending Australia in when the pitch was still expected to offer plenty of movement for the Kiwi quicks.

That's not how it played out as the Aussie batsmen plundered runs.

Williamson's decision would have been understandable if not for the statistical evidence opposed to his call.

In the most recent six one-day internationals played at Manuka Oval, the team that has won the toss first has batted and gone on to win.

Channel 9 also stated 75 per cent of the total ODI's played at the ground have been won by the team that has batted first.

Former Aussie test greats Mark Taylor and Ian Healy couldn't help but giggle at Williamson's expense after pointing out these stats.

"If I'm Kane Williamson hearing all those stats, I'm thinking why didn't I adopt them," Healy told Channel 9.

"Why didn't I send them in?"

Channel 9 commentator Mark Nicholas also declared Williamson may have made a poor call as early as the ninth over of play when the sun began to break through the clouds.

"Williamson will be thinking, 'Could I have batted first'. Even worse, he'd be thinking, 'I should have batted first'."