A pitch with a reputation for being slow did not stop the pacemen from calling the shots as Australia continued their surge for another World Cup title with a decisive 96-run win over New Zealand in their Super Six cricket match at St George’s Park on
Tuesday.
Fired up by sensational spells from opening bowlers Glenn McGrath (3/29) and Brett Lee (5/42), Ricky Ponting’s men gave an outstanding performance in the field in the defence of their 208 for nine, dismissing the Black Caps for 112 with 20 overs remaining.
In the end, they made the final result look a lot easier than it was because the Aussies themselves were on the ropes at 84 for seven before Michael Bevan and Andy Bichel, in a repeat of their heroics against England at the same venue, added a face-saving 97 for the eighth wicket to give their bowlers something decent to
defend.
The response from the attack was as emphatic as it was deadly. McGrath, despite being smashed out of the ground by Chris Cairns, swiftly whipped out three of the top-order and when Lee, who was expensive in his opening spell, returned for a second chance, his lethal blitz chopped down the Black Caps lower-order with stunning rapidity.
There may have been an element of luck to his first wicket when skipper Stephen Fleming touched a legside delivery which probably would have been called a wide, but that was all the opening the ferocious Aussie speedster needed.
In all, he took five wickets in 15 balls during his second spell, blasting the NZ batsmen aside to finish with five for 42 as the Kiwis capitulated from 102 for five to 112 all out.
The Aussie victory tended to overshadow a career-best performance from New Zealand express Shane Bond, who claimed six for 23 after New Zealand had won the toss to give his side a genuine chance of victory.
He was deservedly named man of the match for his efforts. Besides reaching a pace in excess of 150km – 154km was the quickest – Bond also hit the right areas to take three wickets in his first spell before following it up with a superb burst of 4-2-3-3 when he was recalled.
It put Fleming’s men in the driving seat, but unfortunately most of their bowling resources had been used up by that stage and Bevan and Bichel, with sensible batting, got the Aussies back into the game.
The pair revived memories of the England match when they added a match winning 73 in 12 overs for the ninth wicket, taking the Aussies from 135 for eight past the target of 204. Yesterday’s stand came in slightly different circumstances but was no less valuable.
Initially, Bichel said, with the score on 84 for seven in the 27th over, the plan was make sure they lasted the full 50 overs. As they settled down, they produced a critical partnership, with Bichel (64) making his first one-day international half-century, and Bevan (56) showing his normal composure which has made him such
an intelligent one-day player.
Lee finished it off in style with sixes off the last two deliveries as 17 came off the final over by Jacob Oram, and 80 from the last 10 overs of the innings. New Zealand desperately needed a big partnership to break the back of the task, but nobody could stay with skipper Fleming. He watched from one end as five wickets fell for 84 before becoming the sixth victim at 102, and Lee’s first.
With the ball beginning to reverse swing, Lee had the bit between his teeth, finally snuffing out New Zealand’s hopes with an athletic caught and bowled as the Aussies made it eight wins in eight games in this World Cup. – Sapa