Defeated Australia given immediate chance to regain confidence
Peter English
January 31, 2009
Match facts
Sunday, February 1
Start time 1.30pm (04.30 GMT)
The Big Picture
Australia lost the No. 1 ranking in one-day internationals on Friday night in Perth but have no time to mope about their summer of demotion. The crammed itinerary says that two days after finishing a five-game series against South Africa they must start another against New Zealand. Daniel Vettori's team is the only one Australia have been able to beat comfortably since going to India, so there should be some relief on the way. In two Tests in November Australia outplayed their rivals, but the gap usually narrows for 50-over contests. Officially Australia are now No. 2 - a win on Sunday will push them back to first - while New Zealand are fourth, but guessing where the hosts really fit is as tricky as working out why the local middle order has been so unproductive at crucial times. The 4-1 defeat is so unfamiliar at home and Ricky Ponting's men are determined to hit back quickly.
While there is no better time for New Zealand to challenge Australia, their team is also undergoing a serious redevelopment under the new coach Andy Moles. They came from a game behind to beat West Indies in January, but lost their warm-up in Canberra to the Prime Minister's XI.
ODI form guide
Australia - LLLWL
New Zealand - WNWLN
Team news
Shaun Tait should come back after being rested and could be a handful for the visiting batsmen, who won't have much chance to adjust to the conditions. Tait experienced some cramps in Adelaide but is not suffering from the hamstring problems that have hampered him at times during the season. Michael Clarke failed on his return from a thumb injury, but the middle looks much stronger with the vice-captain in it.
Australia (probable) 1 Shaun Marsh, 2 David Warner, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Michael Hussey, 6 David Hussey, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 James Hopes, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Nathan Bracken, 11 Shaun Tait.
Brendon McCullum's hip is the big worry for the visitors, even though it won't keep him out of the match. McCullum, who scored a century in Canberra on Thursday, was unable to take the gloves in that game, but Vettori is confident. "I'm not allowing him any other option," Vettori told
NZPA. "We need him to keep to provide us with as many options as possible." Gareth Hopkins, the back-up gloveman, is on standby and New Zealand need a replacement for Jesse Ryder, who is out for a week with a shoulder problem. Kyle Mills will probably bat at No. 7 and Vettori has spoken of playing two spinners.
New Zealand (possible) 1 Brendon McCullum, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Peter Fulton, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Neil Broom, 6 Grant Elliott, 7 Kyle Mills, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Daniel Vettori (capt), 10 Jeetan Patel, 11 Iain O'Brien.
Watch out for ...
Michael Hussey showed a return to form in Perth after a disappointing season and Australia want him to purr following their mid-innings struggles. His 78 was carefully planned, coming from 96 balls, but his team needed some substance after a horror start. If he can find regular meaningful support it will strengthen Australia's core significantly.
Daniel Vettori is always a menace for Australia and they have already shown this summer that they struggle with tight, controlled slow bowling. Johan Botha posed regular problems during the South Africa series and Vettori should do the same. In 46 matches against Australia he limits his runs to 4.21 an over, which is an excellent return considering the batsmen involved in previous years, and averages slightly less than a wicket a match.
Pitch & conditions
The pitch was quite lively on Friday and while the bowlers had some fun it was the batsman who benefitted most from the true surface. It shouldn't change too much in a couple of days so more high scores can be expected. There is a chance of a thunderstorm on Sunday and the temperature is expected to reach 35C.
Stats and trivia
- In 11 Chappell-Hadlee Series games both sides have five wins each, with one no-result
- Ricky Ponting leads the run-list in Australia-New Zealand contests with 1756 and Brendon McCullum is the best of the current touring squad with 669
- Australia have three wins at the WACA against their Trans-Tasman rivals, who had their sole victory against the hosts there in 1988
- It is the first time the series will be contested over five games
Quotes
"I know that there's a lot of negativity going around about the way we've played and that's fair enough because some of our performances in the last couple of games have been pretty ordinary."
Ricky Ponting "I'd rather be involved in the series just as a batter than not play at all."
Brendon McCullum
Peter English is the Australasia editor of Cricinfo
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