Ponting slams NZ tactics as Aussies cruise home

By Mark Geenty of NZPA in Auckland
New Zealand limped away from Eden Park last night a battered, bruised and beaten cricket team with the criticism of Australian captain Ricky Ponting ringing in their ears.
Ponting capped a man-of-the-match performance by leading another rapid runchase home with 86 not out as Australia beat New Zealand by nine wickets with a day to spare in the third test.
After chasing down 164 in 29.3 overs, it gave Australia a 2-0 test series win to go with their 2-0 pre-Christmas romp against the New Zealanders across the Tasman.
And Ponting fired even more shots their way after Justin Langer hit the winning runs at 6pm under floodlights and drizzle, as New Zealand desperately sought to delay the end until today's scheduled fifth day and the chance of being saved by rain again.
"I was a bit surprised at the way they were really trying to slow things down and basically play on weather coming in tonight or tomorrow," Ponting said.
"They were hoping to sneak through tonight and hope it rained all day tomorrow. I was pretty disappointed with that. They were 11 overs down, something stupid like that."
After the final day washout saved New Zealand from certain defeat in the second test in Wellington, there was no way Ponting wanted a repeat as he again bullied an undermanned bowling line up.
After Matthew Hayden was brilliantly run out for nine by a Daniel Vettori direct hit, he and Langer added 148 in 144 balls.
That included 72 off the last 9.3 overs from pacemen Chris Martin and James Franklin after the tourists were offered the light at 5.15pm by umpire Rudi Koertzen.
"I wanted to get the game over and done with, I didn't want to wait and see what the weather was going to be like tomorrow," Ponting said after his 84-ball knock, including 12 fours and two sixes, to go with his first innings 105.
A sombre New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming thought his team "had a sniff" when Nathan Astle's 69, Vettori's 65 and Lou Vincent's 40 off 33 balls boosted their stuttering second innings to 254.
But on a pitch as good for batting as at any time in the match there was no hope, especially with Vettori nearly down and out with back pain and bowling only four overs, for 19.
His availability for the first test against Sri Lanka starting on Monday in Napier is in serious doubt.
"Get the ice packs out because the guys have been pretty beaten up, and salvage the positives to come out of a series like this, " Fleming said.
"Same as last time they were out here, they played extremely well, but we came away a better side."