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Subject: ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY
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royal28 23.09.09 - 08:45am
Srilanka beat S.A by 55 Runs.D/L MethodDilshan and Mendis drub South Africa in rain-hit game
Led by a blazing century from Tillakaratne Dilshan and a brace of cameos, the world's No. 5 team started their Champions Trophy campaign in fine style by beating the top-ranked side. Graeme Smith's decision to field was based on the amount of dew around but none of the bowlers, barring Dale Steyn, made an impression in the afternoon. Dilshan's 92-ball 106, coupled with significant inputs from captains past and present, lifted them to a daunting total that was well beyond South Africa.
Sri Lanka carried the energy from their powerful batting display into the field and Ajantha Mendis, unlike the home side's spinners, extracted bounce and turn under lights. Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis showed signs of dominance with an 81-run stand in quick time but once Smith was bowled off Mendis' first delivery, and Kallis and JP Duminy fell in successive ba11s, Sri Lanka could apply the chokehold.
Smith had a smile on his face when the toss went his way and Steyn nipped out Sanath Jayasuriya, but it was soon replaced by a frown. In a 158-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara, who provided solid support with 54 from 74 ba11s, Dilshan played anchor and aggressor in equal measure. The first to feel Dilshan's force was Wayne Parnell, preferred to Makhaya Ntini; he struggled to hit a consistent length and went for 39 in five overs. It was a recurring trend in those early overs, Parnell dragging the ball down and Dilshan finding the deep point and midwicket boundaries. Albie Morkel was thrashed for 22 in two overs as Sri Lanka reached 100 in the 13th over.
The onslaught forced Smith, who refused to delay the Powerplay, to turn to his spin pair to try and stop the destruction. The pair stemmed the flow of boundaries but lacked bite and Sri Lanka ticked along at over six an over. Dabs, drives, flicks, shots off angled bats, and punches all evaded fielders and Sangakkara brought up his first half-century since February. He fell to an innocuous delivery from Duminy, after which Dilshan's boundary blasting - he hit 16 fours and a six - ended when he slashed the first ball of Steyn's return over to third man.
Sri Lanka used the platform extremely well and crossed 300 thanks largely to Mahela Jayawardene's 77 off 61. He was his usual deft self: cutting, nudging and pushing into the gaps with excellent timing. His feet constantly moved as he made room to create singles and, with Thilan Samaraweera playing in a similar vein, Sri Lanka pressed ahead. Before South Africa knew it Jayawardene was on 41 off 40 ba11s - the majority of those runs coming from controlled paddles and sweeps - and the stage was set for a late surge; the final ten overs cost 85. Parnell gave some respectability to his figures by dismissing Jayawardene and Samaraweera in successive deliveries though by then Sri Lanka were 297 for 5 in the 47th over.
Chasing more than a run a ball from the start, South Africa needed a strong platform. They were in early trouble when Hashim Amla was cleaned up by Angelo Mathews off an inside edge in the third over. Kallis joined Smith, looking leaner having shed a few kilos, and the pair milked the wayward Nuwan Kulasekara, who seemed to have contracted Parnell's problem of bowling short. Kallis was quick to punish him and Kulasekara's fifth over went for 14, with Smith particularly strong through the off side.
While Smith danced down the track at will and shuffled about to unsettle the fast bowlers, Kallis chose to clip the ball sweetly from the crease. Smith looked increasingly confident at the crease, but playing for a Mendis offbreak he missed one that skidded and hurried on and had his leg stump pegged back.
Mendis had again proved a valuable go-to man for his captain by ending the flourishing partnership. Smith's bullish start hinted at the possibility of a Dilshan-style ambush, but inside four overs Mendis ripped the heart out of the batting order. Kallis showed glimpses of his clas* in compiling a brisk 41 before he was excellently caught at mid-off by a tumbling Mathews. Next ball, Duminy was castled by a flipper.
The required run-rate was already above seven at 113 for 4 in the 21st over, placing too much pressure on the rest of the order. Lasith Malinga, having bowled just one over at the start, returned to dismiss AB de Villiers and later snapped a gung-ho stand between Morkel and Johan Botha before rain interrupted the chase. At that stage Sri Lanka were well in command, and were later adjudged deserved winners.
Sri Lanka had previously lost only once after posting a 300-plus total in one-day internationals and, led by Mendis, the masters of asphyxiation struck. Adapting to early-season South African conditions superbly, Sri Lanka have taken the lead in showing that Asian teams are a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. South Africa, frustratingly, have shown again why their ability in multi-team tournaments has long been questioned. *
royal28 24.09.09 - 02:45pm
The nature of Nathan's right knee problem has meant that he has had some ongoing manageable pain, but this has now reached a point where he is unable to continue playing in the ICC Champions Trophy, Australia's physiothe Alex Kountouris said. He will return to Australia to consult a knee specialist for an opinion on the best course of action. His return to cricket will be determined after consulting the specialist.
The loss of Bracken will hurt Australia's attack as he is the team's highest-ranked one-day international bowler, sitting sixth on the ICC ODI rankings, ahead of the next Australian Mitchell Johnson in equal ninth. Bracken, who played in the recent one-day series in England, will also be in doubt for the Champions League Twenty20, where he was expected to represent New South Wales in early October.
Australia's first match of the Champions Trophy is against West Indies on Sa ay. Cricket Australia has not yet confirmed a replacement for Bracken in the 15-man squad, although contenders will include Doug Bollinger, Stuart Clark and Brett Geeves. *
royal28 25.09.09 - 07:37am
South Africa cruise to five-wicket victory
South Africa, led by Roelof van der Merwe and Wayne Parnell with the ball and AB de Villiers with the bat, recovered from their opening-game loss to beat New Zealand in Centurion. New Zealand struggled to put up runs after being put in under slightly overcast conditions, with van der Merwe starring with ten cunning overs while Parnell claimed five wickets.
Ross Taylor played a responsible innings that gave New Zealand stability after they were reduced to 92 for 3, but losing their last seven wickets for 51 was a crime. With this win, impossible without de Villiers' cool half-century, Group B is now wide open with England yet to play a match.
The pitch was the same one used a couple of days ago when South Africa were mauled by Sri Lanka, but the result was very different. Early on it offered more pace and bounce than the track on which Tillakaratne Dilshan blazed away, but as the afternoon wore on stroke play became increasingly tougher, especially against the older ball. By the time New Zealand were midway into their innings, after Parnell took two early wickets, the spinners found appreciable bounce and the abrasive nature of the pitch made the ball grip the surface.
van der Merwe and Johan Botha bowled with control and the effort was complemented by the attacking fields Graeme Smith set, which played a major role in suffocating the batsmen. Runs came at a trickle with New Zealand managing just 72 between the 15th and 35th overs. During that span, the spinners conceded just three boundaries.
Taylor had a few close shaves against van der Merwe but overcame his nerves to play a substantial role. He was pleasing when cracking the ball in the arc between point and gully but more than those odd field perforations his contribution was valuable for the manner in which he s d up the pressure of seeing New Zealand through difficulty. Grant Elliott had his moments of indecision when ba11s from van der Merwe just about missed the edge of the bat, yet managed to pierce the wall of fielders with some excellent shots through cover.
His dismissal for 39, bowled by a peach from van der Merwe, snapped a 71-run stand and allowed South Africa back spectacularly. The last five fell for 11 runs in 18 ba11s, with Parnell nipping out three in the batting Powerplay, and that decided the match. Taylor had carried the innings but the lack of sizeable partnerships hurt them: there were four stands of 30 or more, but none topped 71 as South Africa plugged away. The bowlers did a fine job, and the sharp turn the spinners achieved suggested that batting in the evening would be even more difficult.
This is where de Villiers made the difference. Smith failed to get going, chipping Daryl Tuffey to mid-on, after which Jacques Kallis briefly put New Zealand on the back foot. Kallis biffed a 39-ball 36, batting as if the world was his stage, but his dismissal left de Villiers to shepherd the chase.
Warning of de Villiers' intentions came early with two sumptuous drives down the ground off Daryl Tuffey. He didn't lag thereafter, embellishing his presence with lovely clips off the pads and excellent judgment of singles and doubles. Daniel Vettori got sharp bite and used his arm ball well, and it was with one that gently turned that he sent Hashim Amla on his way for 38 from 65 deliveries. Kyle Mills returned and was the beneficiary of a wicket as an attempted cut from JP Duminy went off the bottom edge and Brendon McCullum took a sharp catch.
de Villiers refused to panic. He collected the singles, punished the loose ba11s, and didn't buckle under the pressure exerted by a tight spell from Vettori. Singles were vital to South Africa's progress yet sporadically, to give the fans something to purr about, de Villiers found the boundary. He brought up his 19th ODI fifty off 54 ba11s and Mark Boucher seemed set to seal the win with him until he lost his concentration in the 36th over. South Africa, though, already had the game wrapped up. *
royal28 25.09.09 - 08:00am
Out-of-form England face tough openerAndrew Strauss is usually as affable as international captains come, but despite his upbeat sentiments, there was no disguising the exhausted despondency with which he addressed the media in Johannesburg on Wednesday, as England prepared to face the music in a one-day competition that has humiliation stamped all over it. True, they arrive in the country boasting a winning streak of one match, after denying Australia a 7-0 whitewash in the final ODI of the English summer on Sunday, but even in that irrelevant face-saver, they still shipped six wickets chasing 177.
And now, with respect to an Australian side that may be the reigning Champions Trophy champions but are still in an undeniable rebuilding phase, England prepare to face a team that really knows how to play one-day cricket. Sri Lanka simply hammered the much-fancied tournament hosts, South Africa, in the opening match on Tuesday. Tillakaratne Dilshan's majestic hundred put the match out of reach, as the wiles of Ajantha Mendis proved too canny to allow a 300-plus target to be pursued with any confidence - even for a team stacked with the sort of power-players that England can only dream of.
In the absence of Kevin Pietersen (who has scored two of England's three ODI hundreds since January 2008 - a tally that even Scotland has surpassed) and latterly Andrew Flintoff and even Luke Wright, England lack batsmen who can break the shackles, and raise the tempo. Strauss has been batting like a dream all summer, but even at his most imperious, he is still a man for whom an 80.00 strike-rate is a pacey tempo - hence his unfortunate habit during the Australia ODIs of getting out when well set, usually while attempting a reverse-sweep or similar, shots that his colleagues ought to have been producing while he continued to anchor the innings.
Strange results are possible in 50-over cricket - let's not forget, when England were last humiliated by Australia in a one-day campaign, in Australia in 2006-07, they somehow emerged with the CB Series trophy in their luggage, after Paul Collingwood stitched together back-to-back victories in the finals. But they've never yet won an ICC global event, and they've rarely looked less ready to break that habit. The rarefied atmosphere of the Highveld is no place for weary cricketers.
*
royal28 25.09.09 - 08:07am
vs 
JOHANNESBURG: England began their Champions Trophy campaign with a six-wicket triumph over Group B rivals Sri Lanka on Friday. Chasing Sri Lankas 212 all out in 47.3 overs, England eased to 213 for four off 45 thanks to an unbeaten 62 in 83 ba11s from Eoin Morgan. I think it was one of our better one-day performances for a while, captain Andrew Strauss told Sky television. Its always a pretty fast scoring ground and it was a case of not losing too many early wickets. We are really pleased with the way we went about that chase, it was quite a professional chase. The key for us today was that we played their spinners well. England slipped to 19 for two before Paul Collingwood launched a counter-attack, dominating a 63-run partnership with Owais Shah. Collingwood breezed to 46 off 51 ba11s with five fours and three sixes before chopping a delivery from fast bowler Lasith Malinga on to his stumps. His dismissal brought Morgan to the crease and he and Shah combined for a 76-run stand off 94 ba11s. Shah was then caught by keeper Kumar Sangakkara off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for a patient 44. Competitive total The left-handed Morgan went on to reach his half-century with his fifth boundary. Earlier, half-centuries from Thilina Kandamby and Angelo Mathews helped Sri Lanka post a competitive total after slumping to 17 for four after being put in to bat. Kandamby top-scored with 53 before being run out while Mathews chipped in with 52 as the pair combined for a sixth-wicket stand of 82. Mathews was lucky on 51 when he appeared to have been run out after colliding with England seamer Graham Onions. Although he was initially given out, Strauss called the batsman back. Fast bowler James Anderson swung the new ball prodigiously, taking two for 11 in his opening seven overs before finishing with three for 20. The result leaves the group evenly poised with Sri Lanka, South Africa and England having won one game each. On Sunday, England play hosts South Africa in Centurion while Sri Lanka meet New Zealand in Johannesburg. *
cortex 26.09.09 - 09:36pm
Pakistan won the match against India by 54 runs.Pakistan made 302 runs for 9 in 50 Overs,Shoaib Malik smashed 128 runs and Middle Order Batsman Muhammad Yousaf Played a sensible innings of 87 runs,Indias chase under lights began on a shaky note when ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar fell in the fifth over, caught behind off teenage paceman Mohammad Aamer after contributing just eight. Gambhir exploded with a flurry of boundaries to keep the pressure on the Pakistani bowlers and fielders, hitting two sixes and seven fours in his quickfire 46-ball knock. Just when he looked like playing a big knock, he was run out following a mix-up with Dravid. Younus sparked celebrations when he hit the stumps at the non-strikers end from mid-off. Indias chances receded sharply with the dismissal of Raina, who was trapped leg-before by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal after hitting two sixes and five fours in his 41-ball knock. Pakistani fans raced onto the ground when Ajmal bowled Harbhajan Singh to complete the victory. When Raina was batting, I thought it (the target) was pretty gettable and after that it became difficult. Two run-outs dont help you when you are chasing. We gave away too many runs, said India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Two big games are coming up and from now on, its like a knock-out for us. If we dont play well, we can pack up and go back home Pakistan, playing their first one-dayer against India in more than a year, earlier recovered from 65-3 after electing to bat, thanks to Malik and Yousuf who dominated the bowling with a wide range of attacking shots. The Malik-Yousuf onslaught saw Pakistan plunder 85 in the last 10 overs. Yousuf fell playing shots, bowled by left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra, but not before he had put his team in a strong position. Malik was out in the penultimate over after smashing 16 fours in his 126-ball knock. Nehra was the most successful bowler with 4-55, but received little support from the other end. Pakistan began aggressively as openers Imran r and Kamran Akmal helped their team race to 50 in less than nine overs. r went for shots early in his innings, hitting four boundaries in his 17-ball 20 before top-edging a pull off Nehra to be caught by Harbhajan at mid-on. Nehra struck again when he bowled Akmal for 19. Pakistan looked in trouble after Younus (20) was caught behind off left-arm paceman Rudra Pratap Singh. India then had to wait for more than 31 overs for their next success as Malik and Yousuf applied themsleves remarkably well to put their team in a comfortable position. *
royal28 27.09.09 - 07:34am
Johnson and Ponting secure Australian win
Half-centuries from Ricky Ponting and Mitchell Johnson helped Australia to secure a 50-run win over West Indies in their ICC Champions Trophy Group A match at the Wanderers on Sa ay.
Johnson smashed his way to 73 not out off 47 ba11s with eight fours and three sixes while Ponting scored 79 runs off 95 deliveries as Australia posted 275 for eight in their first match of the tournament.
In reply, West Indies could manage only 225 all out in 46.5 overs, with Dale Richards unable to bat due to injury. The defeat was West Indies' second consecutive loss of the tournament, effectively ruling them out of semi-final contention.
The left-handed Johnson needed just 40 deliveries to bring up his maiden One-Day International 50, eclipsing his previous ODI best of 43 not out scored against England at Lord's earlier this month.
In the process, Johnson shared in an eighth-wicket partnership with Brett Lee (25) that realised 70 runs to boost the Australian score after they had stuttered to 171 for seven in the 40th over.
So savage was Johnson's assault that 103 runs were scored off the last 10 overs of the Australian innings.
Earlier, Ponting strode imperiously to his 69th ODI half-century before he was stumped by Walton off the bowling of left-arm spinner Nikita Miller.
Ponting's departure came in the middle of an Australian slump in which the defending champions lost five wickets for 51 runs before Johnson's rescue act.
Miller was at the heart of the Australian middle-order collapse as the 27-year-old captured two for 24 off 10 overs.
The daunting Australian total proved too much for West Indies despite half-centuries from Andre Fletcher and Travis Dowlin. The duo built an 86-run second-wicket partnership before Fletcher was run out, for 54, by a direct hit from Johnson, fielding at mid-off.
Dowlin made his way to a patient 55 off 87 ba11s before he top-edged a delivery from fast bowler Brett Lee and was caught by wicket-keeper Tim Paine.
On Monday, Australia take on India in Centurion while West Indies play their final match, against India, on Wednesday at the Wanderers.
*
royal28 3.10.09 - 01:13pm
Australia's cricketers proved that their recent 6-1 thrashing of England was neither an aberration nor entirely irrelevant, as Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson produced their country's highest partnership in limited-overs cricket, a majestic alliance of 252 in 242 ba11s, to power their side into Monday's final of the Champions Trophy.
Chasing a target of 258 that was swelled only by an improbable career-best from Tim Bresnan at No. 8, Australia sauntered to a nine-wicket victory against their favourite ODI opponents with a massive 49 ba11s to spare. Ponting chalked up his 28th one-day century, and his 12,000th run in the format, en route to an unbeaten 111 from 115 ba11s, while Watson provided the gloss finish with 136 not out from 132 ba11s, his third and highest hundred in 89 games.
Incredibly there were no Australian players named in the ODI Team of the Year that was unveiled at the ICC's annual awards ceremony on Thursday night, but the world's leading 50-over nation proved once more that they may be a side in transition, but they are by no means a spent force, as they secured the right to defend the title they won in India in October 2006. The end, when it came, was nose-rubbingly humiliating, as the Aussies claimed the batting Powerplay with 28 runs still required, and duly clobbered 23 of them in a single over from Paul Collingwood, including three of Watson's seven sixes, all from exuberant heaves through the leg-side. For a man who started the tournament with two ducks, it was a spectacular riposte.
*
royal28 3.10.09 - 01:26pm
Umpire of the Year while Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson has bagged the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy after being named the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricketer of the Year, it was announced here on Thursday. I am very pleased to get this award. Thanks to PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) and ICC as well as my friends and family and of course my wife, who I have to leave for long periods of time, said Dar. Johnson, the left-arm paceman became the sixth player to win the trophy after Indias Rahul Dravid (2004), Englands Andrew Flintoff and South Africas Jacques Kallis (joint winners in 2005), Ricky Ponting of Australia (2006 and 2007) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2008) of the West Indies. Im really blown away. I am just surprised to be up here. It has been a great 12 months for our side, said Johnson.
We have lost some wonderful players in recent years and we have been rebuilding with some young guys in the team and we have played together well. Im enjoying the game at the moment and that makes all the difference. Johnson, whose side lost the Ashes this year, fought off stiff competition from Indians Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Englands Ashes-winning captain Andrew Strauss. Johnson bagged 80 wickets in 17 Tests, the highest by any Test bowler in the year. Opening batsman Gambhir won the Test Player of the Year award, warding off stiff competition from Johnson, Sri Lankan batsman Thilan Samaraweera and Strauss.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni pipped compatriots Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag, and Chanderpaul to bag the One-Day Player of the Year award. Its been a dream run for me. I never thought it could be like this but life has changed for me and I am very happy, said Gambhir, who scored 1,269 runs in eight Tests during the 12-month period. As a unit we have played very well and I am just glad to contribute to the overall success of the team. Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan won the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year award for his unbeaten 96 off 57 ba11s against the West Indies in the semi-final at the Twenty 20 World Championships in England. This is a great feeling for me. I cant forget that innings. It was so important and I was really happy about my overall performance in that tournament, said Dilshan. It was a thrill for me to do well in England and do well for my team. Im really proud of myself for having a new shot named after me (the Dilscoop). That shot has given me confidence. Australian paceman Peter Siddle claimed Emerging Player of the Year award. Getting to represent my country is an enormous honour and it has been a great time for me to be part of the team. Its been very enjoyable, said Siddle. New Zealand won the Spirit of Cricket award, presented to the team which, in the opinion of the ICC umpires and match referees and the 10 full member captains, has best conducted itself on the field within the spirit of the game.Ireland captain William Porterfield won the Associate Player of the Year award while. Englands Claire Taylor was named the Womens Cricketer of the Year. The awards were based on performances between August 13, 2008 and August 24, 2009. The selection panel was chaired by West Indies legend Clive Lloyd, with former cricketers Anil Kumble of India, Bob Taylor of England, Pakistans Mudassar Nazar and New Zealander Stephen Fleming being the other members. *
royal28 6.10.09 - 03:11pm
Australia 206 for 4 (Watson 105*, White 62, Mills 3-27) beat New Zealand 200 for 9 (Guptill 40, Hauritz 3-37, Lee 2-45) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Don't bowl short: Shane Watson was lethal on the pull and the cut Getty Images
Related Links
Preview : Underdog tale reaches tough climax
Players/Officials: Shane Bond Brett Lee Kyle Mills Peter Siddle Shane Watson Cameron White
Matches: Australia v New Zealand at Centurion
Series/Tournaments: ICC Champions Trophy
Teams: Australia New Zealand
They were given a scare in a global final for the first time since the 1996 World Cup but Australia still remain the team to beat on the big day. If Australia were typically aggressive and opportunistic in setting themselves just 201 to chase, they were made to play out of character in the chase against exceptional opening spells from Kyle Mills and Shane Bond, which Shane Watson and Cameron White did with smartness and with determination.
Watson's best innings at international level, a century that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award for the second successive Champions Trophy final, was key to Australia's win. The opening spells of Mills and Bond even overshadowed that of Brett Lee and Peter Siddle. In defence of a meagre total, their lengths were immaculate. The ball that got Ricky Ponting was a perfect example: neither full enough for him to come forward, nor short enough to carry over the stumps, and the inswing trapped him in front. By then Bond had nailed Tim Paine with a full outswinger.
Along with White, Watson went into the Test-match mode, playing out the top two bowlers as if in the first session on a green top under overcast skies. They could afford to do so because of the paltriness of the target, and the absence of Daniel Vettori: he had to pull out at the last minute because of a hamstring injury. White even let go two leg-side half-volleys. Apart from that, there were hardly any scoring opportunities on offer. Except for a couple of awry calls for singles, they survived that period calmly. Starting from the seventh, five overs went for just two runs, and the bowling figures of Mills and Bond then told the story: 6-2-8-1 and 5-2-9-1 respectively.
And then the Aussie mental strength and ruthlessness came to fore. All the other four bowlers were welcomed with boundaries in their first overs. Two of them, against Ian Butler and Jeetan Patel, were deliberate efforts to signal intent; the other two, off James Franklin and Grant Elliott, were gifts down the leg side. Once both the opening bowlers were taken off, Watson turned it on to take the game away from New Zealand. He was lethally good with the horizontal bat, launching two powerful sixes to midwicket, and with the straight bat he mostly went down and along the ground.
Prime Numbers
5
The number of successive finals Australia have won in multi-team tournaments - they have triumphed in the last three World Cups, and the last two Champions Trophies. The last time they lost such a final was the 1996 World Cup.
3
The number of Man-of-the-Match awards Shane Watson has won in Champions Trophy knockout matches - he won the award in the 2006 final, and the 2009 semi-final and final. In all he has won seven such awards.
49.68
Watson's average when he has opened the innings in ODIs. In 30 innings he has scored 1242 runs, with four centuries and three fifties, and a strike rate of 85.95.
73
The number of dot ba11s Australia played in the first 15 overs of their chase. During this period they struck only four fours. In the next 30.2 overs, though, they struck 18 fours and five sixes.
128
The partnership for the third wicket between Watson and Cameron White, which is the third-highest for Australia in an ODI against New Zealand. They fell seven short of the record.
16
The number of times Australia have beaten New Zealand in an ODI at a neutral venue, out of 17 games. Their only defeat was in Cardiff during the 1999 World Cup.
51
The number of ODI wickets Brett Lee has taken against New Zealand, making him the sixth bowler - and the second Australian, after Glenn McGrath - to get to the 50-wicket mark against them.
From 7 off 28 he motored along to 49 off 72 by the 25th over. During that Watson onslaught, White presented New Zealand with a top-edge that Brendon McCullum, the stand-in captain, got under after having run backwards but dropped. That would have reduced Australia to 41 for 3 in the 18th over.
The momentum wrested, Watson took the back seat, and allowed White get into action. McCullum realised the second string of bowlers wasn't doing him any good, and called Mills and Bond back. Mills gave him another big-hearted effort, taking out White and Michael Hussey, in the process crossing Richard Hadlee's tally of 158 wickets. Both the leading bowlers' quotas were exhausted, and Watson turned it on again, bringing up his hundred and the win with back-to-back sixes.
This final will be remembered for the top-class pace bowling from both sides, on what was a true surface that yielded neither variable bounce nor much seam movement. The way Australia bowled, it seemed we would have the traditional anti-climactic final involving Australia.
All three fast bowlers were fast, accurate and menacing. Nathan Hauritz was canny on a pitch that assisted him, and Watson was stable. New Zealand were never allowed space: the first time their run-rate crossed four an over was at the end of the 43rd over, but they had lost seven wickets by then and had consumed the batting Powerplay. Ponting was proactive in attacking - even during two sizeable partnerships, he set aggressive fields, and brought back all his three strike bowlers in the middle overs to try and get breakthroughs.
A bad start for New Zealand got worse when McCullum fell for a 14-ball duck, which seemed almost inevitable. Right from the off, Lee and Siddle hit the mid-to-high 140s, with Lee getting consistent outswing as well. Three tight overs were enough to frustrate McCullum into cutting a Siddle delivery that was too close to him.
Martin Guptill and Aaron Redmond weathered the storm that the three Aussie fast bowlers worked up, but then Hauritz struck in the middle overs. A 61-run stand was followed by back-to-back strikes from Hauritz, sending back both the batsmen.
Ponting got slips in, and asked Mitchell Johnson and Lee to attack furthermore. Ross Taylor, who twice edged towards slip deliveries from Johnson straightening from a sharp round-the-wicket angle, finally played an impatient shot. Lee produced a vicious inswinging yorker to get rid of Elliott.
It then became a matter of surviving the 50 overs, and Australia never let up the pressure, despite the batting Powerplay that yielded 40 runs. *
