Speedster Brett Lee stepped up in the absence of Glenn McGrath to inspire Australia to an overwhelming 147-run win over New Zealand in a one-day cricket international at Eden Park on Saturday.
After Australia were sent in to bat first and made 252 for eight in the opening match of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series, a blistering spell of pace bowling by Lee helped reduce New Zealand to 33 for six by the 13th over.
They were eventually dismissed for 105 in the 28th over, their sixth lowest score in one-day international history.
Lee was simply too quick for the New Zealand top order, sending the ball down around 155kph, and his three for five off six overs broke the back of the innings.
He conceded just one scoring shot and three of the runs were from wides.
Backing Lee were fellow pacemen Nathan Bracken and Stuart Clark, and their performances quashed pre-match suggestions the Australians would miss the rested Glenn McGrath.
”I was confident we could defend 250 on that wicket and some great fast bowling early on by Bracken and Lee cetainly set up the win for us,” said Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
”Lee bowled a few sort of 155 [kph] tonight and on a wicket that’s got some variable bounce he was always going to be difficult.”
It was a bowling performance which stunned New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori.
”We thought restricting them to 250 we maybe had a chance but they came out and bowled and fielded superbly and took the game away from us,” he said.
”[Lee] obviously set the tone and their fielders backed him up.”
Only Chris Cairns offered any real resistance, posting a 41-run partnership with Jacob Oram for the seventh wicket and finishing not out 37.
Earlier, Ponting cracked a rapid 63 at a run-a-ball pace to set his side up for what seemed a challenging target of 252 for eight.
His early appearance at the crease came after the usually reliable Adam Gilchrist was back in the pavillion for three as the Australian batsmen struggled to find their rhythm on the slow New Zealand pitch.
But once he had settled in, Ponting let rip in a 118-run partnership with Simon Katich, posting five fours and three sixes before New Zealand fought their way back into the game with three quick wickets.
Displaying their new lollipop green-and-yellow kit for the first time, Australia crawled to 18 for one after six overs before Ponting blasted 15 off one James Franklin over to force the New Zealand left-arm quick out of the attack, and Australia rapidly reached 46 for one off 10 overs.
Franklin, who claimed the prize scalp of Gilchrist for three in his opening over, was a late addition to the New Zealand starting XI after Shane Bond was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Katich celebrated his return to the Australian line-up by compiling 54 before lofting Scott Styris to Daniel Vettori for a regulation catch, and Ponting followed soon after when he was lbw to Vettori for 64.
When Brad Hodge was bowled by Styris for 13 Australia had gone from 121 for one to 148 for four in just under eight overs.
But if the New Zealand Black Caps thought they had regained the upper hand, Andrew Symonds had other thoughts as he led the second Australian revival.
Symonds put on 59 for the fifth wicket with Michael Clarke before he was bowled by Vettori for 44 when trying to up the scoring rate in the final 10 overs.
Cairns, also returning to international cricket after being dumped for New Zealand’s recent series in South Africa, proved expensive early on before taking the wickets of Clarke and Brad Hogg in his final over to finish with two for 54 off nine overs.
Vettori, the stand-in captain for Stephen Fleming, was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers with two for 29 off his 10 overs.
He added to his wicket contribution with the regulation catch of Katich and made another diving to his right spectacularly to seal the dismissal of Hogg. – Sapa-AFP