| CricketZone.Com | IndiaExpress.Com ApunKaChoice.Com |
 |
|
NEWS Cricket World Cup 2007>New Zealand thrash Australia by record margin 16th Feb 2007 22.30 IST By Agencies Australia suffered their first ever ten-wicket loss in limited-overs cricket when they were thrashed by New Zealand in Wellington today just weeks away from their World Cup defence. A five-wicket haul from Shane Bond was backed by an unbroken stand by Stephen Paul Fleming and Lou Vincent who needed just 27 overs to knock off the 149-run target in the first game of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series.
The makeshift Australians had trouble getting into rhythm with the bat and had particular trouble handling Bond, making 148 all out three balls short of their 50 overs. Then their defence of a low target suffered from wayward bowling and dropped catches. As a result, Vincent cracked 73 from 87 balls and Fleming faced just 76 deliveries for his 70 as they produced a record opening stand for New Zealand and the first century from a New Zealand opening partnership in 22 years. Australia's woes were summed up late in the New Zealand innings when Vincent took off his gloves and began walking from the pitch, certain he was going to be caught after he top-edged a pull shot. But he had to be called back by Fleming as a communication mix-up meant neither the bowler Mitchell Johnson nor the close-in fielder Brad Hodge were able to reach the simple chance. It was a rare third successive loss for Australia, after losing two in a row to England in their recent home tri-series finals, and their first-ever 10-wicket hiding. Stand-in captain Michael Hussey described the defeat as "demoralising" for Australia, who need to win the three-match series to defend their top ranking from South Africa. "It's probably as low as we've been or can go. We've got a new group at the moment and we've just got to mould together as quickly as possible," he said. An elated New Zealand captain Fleming, who won the toss and put Australia in to bat under overcast skies, said man-of-the-match Bond set up the victory. "It's the best I've seen him bowl for some time and not just because he got five wickets. His control was outstanding, and his thought processes were great," he said. After his first spell of six overs, Bond had two for seven, with Phil Jacques spooning a slower ball to Daniel Vettori and Brad Haddin bowled by a ball which pitched outside the off stump and cut back sharply. When he came back for his second spell, Bond pulled off a magnificent caught-and-bowled which left batsman Cameron White staring in disbelief. Bond finished with 5/23. White blasted a slower ball straight down the wicket only to see Bond lean to his right on his follow-through and snatch up the ball one-handed just above the ground. Bond then cleaned up Nathan Bracken and Brad Hogg and added to his purple patch by catching Shane Watson at long-off after the Australian had skied spinner Vettori. Vettori also dismissed Hodge to finish with 2/26, while Mark Gillespie (2/27) and Craig McMillan (1/3) were the other successful bowlers. Also View In-Depth Coverage: Cricket World Cup 2007 Team Page: Australia Team Page: New Zealand | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
|
|
|