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New Zealand overcame two controversial dismissals to grab a thrilling two-wicket victory over Australia in the opening game of the Chappell-Hadlee series at the WACA Ground on Sunday.
In front of 14,571 fans, NZ skipper Daniel Vettori hit the winning runs off the final ball of the match after Nathan Bracken (3-35) and Shaun Tait (2-40) inspired a late comeback.
Earlier, Australia’s batting woes continued as Kiwi paceman Kyle Mills grabbed 4-35 to help skittle the home side for a paltry 181 in 48.4 overs.
In reply, NZ’s run chase got off to a disastrous start when Brendon McCullum was given out lbw by umpire Bruce Oxenford despite getting a thick inside edge to Tait’s delivery.
But worse was to come for the Kiwis in the 36th over with the visitors delicately placed at 4-106.
Neil Broome walked on 29 when he thought he was bowled by spinner Michael Clarke.
But replays showed the ball never hit the woodwork, with wicketkeeper Brad Haddin’s gloves dislodging the bails as he caught the ball just above the stumps.
Oxenford, who was at square leg at the time, didn’t pick up on the incident, leaving NZ short-changed for the second time in the match.
NZ had every right to feel aggrieved but Ross Taylor refused to let the controversy distract him, crushing six fours and a six in his knock of 64 to guide the visitors to within site of victory.
Tait and Bracken combined to break a matchwinning 62-run stand between Taylor and Mills and when Bracken bowled Tim Southee in the final over, NZ needed four runs to win off four balls with just two wickets in hand.
NZ levelled the scores with one ball remaining and Vettori dispatched Bracken through gully to secure the win.
It was Australia’s fourth one-day loss on the trot.
The last time they experienced such a bad run was between February 9-20 in 2007 when they lost five games in a row.
To compound Australia’s woes, opener Shaun Marsh could miss the remainder of the series after suffering a hamstring injury while chasing a ball early in NZ’s innings.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Australia crashed to 5-54 in the 19th over.
Marsh (15) and David Warner (7) fell meekly playing Mills straight to short cover, while Ponting (5) and Clarke (12) were both run-out attempting suicidal runs.
Only Michael Hussey (49), Haddin (31) and tail-ender Johnson (20 off 17 balls) put up any form of resistance in another sub-standard batting performance from Australia.
While Mills claimed the glory with his four wickets, Vettori (0-22 off 10 overs) played a crucial role in tying Australia down.
“I think you saw from Haddin’s reaction that he knew something was wrong so he probably should have made more noise about it,” Vettori said of Broom’s dismissal.
“I suppose (I’m disappointed) because I thought it was a partnership that was going to win the game so it put us under more pressure.
“But we are pretty pleased to get there in the end. It was a nice way to finish. Moral victory or not, it was just great to get the win.”
Ponting said he had yet to see a replay of the incident.
“I haven’t seen any replays of it at all … so I can’t make any judgements on that,” Ponting said.
“Out on the field at the time he (Haddin) said he was certain the ball flicked the top of the off-stump.
“I honestly can’t answer whether it was right or wrong at the moment because i haven’t seen it.”
THE LAST TIME AUSTRALIA LOST FOUR OR MORE GAMES ON THE TROT:
FEB 9, 2007: Lost to England by four wickets in game one of the tri-series final, Melbourne
Feb 11, 2007: Lost to England by 34 runs in game two of the tri-series final, Sydney
Feb 16, 2007: Lost to New Zealand by 10 wickets in game one of the Chappell-Hadlee series, Wellington
Feb 18, 2007: Lost to New Zealand by five wickets in game two of the Chappell-Hadlee series, Auckland
Feb 20, 2007: Lost to New Zealand by one wicket in game three of the Chappell-Hadlee series, Hamilton
Australia’s current run of woes:
Jan 23, 2009: Lost to South Africa by three wickets in game three of best-of-five series, Sydney
Jan 26, 2009: Lost to South Africa by eight wickets in game four of best-of-five series, Adelaide
Jan 30, 2009: Lost to South Africa by 39 runs in game five of best-of-five series, Perth.
Feb 1, 2009: Lost to New Zealand by two wickets in game one of Chappell-Hadlee series, Perth
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