Australia suffered another stunning defeat at the hands of New Zealand today, after failing once more to defend a mammoth total. Batting first, the Aussies were led by Matthew Hayden's unbeaten 181 - the highest ever score by an Australian in ODI cricket. Hayden's blitz, despite having to use a runner after suffering a blow to the foot, saw his team to 346/5 from 50 overs. The run spree could be attributed to the fact that New Zealand took to the field without its two most accomplished bowlers in Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori.
New Zealand's reply got off to a rocky start as the home side lost its first 4 wickets with a mere 41 runs on the board. McMillan and McCullum then added 165 runs for the sixth wicket with McMillan scoring the fastest ever ODI hundred by a New Zealander. After losing the centurian for 117, the home team darted towards victory with McCullum undefeated on 86 at the end. Shane Watson suffered the indignity of being pelted at 8.8 runs per over from his maximum allotment of 10.
This match marks the second successive time that Australia failed to defend a total in excess of 330, and the third successive match that New Zealand batted second and won. Certainly, the new injury concerns of Hayden do not bode well for Australia considering that the team may be without Adam Gilchrist for the initial stages of the World Cup next month. For New Zealand, a 3-0 thrashing of Australia will have the side brimming with confidence going into the tournament.
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Tue, 20/02/2007 - 9:27am
Oh, how the mighty have fallen! That's 4 times in the last 18 months that a side has chased down in excess of 330 against the Australians, including South Africa's 400+. They are the two time defending champion of the World Cup and will not be easy to dethrone, but they certainly don't look so invincible anymore.
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