Australia win thriller against brave Black Caps

Black Cap Lou Vincent leaves the field after being caught out by Adam Gilchrist. Phil Walter / Getty Images

New Zealand conjured one of the great chases in one-day cricket history but it wasn't enough to beat an Andrew Symonds-inspired Australia tonight.

Australia won the match by two runs in a thrilling runfest at Westpac Stadium to seal the three-match series 2-0.

Kyle Mills was run out with one ball remaining as New Zealand fell for 320, just short of the 322 for five the visitors reached courtesy of a world record 156 from the No 5 position to the swashbuckling Symonds.

It was a scarcely believable reply from the hosts after their limp batting effort in the 147-run loss at Auckland last Saturday.

Needing six runs to win in the final over, Brendon McCullum and Mills were both run out, to the huge disappointment of a 16,000-strong crowd under lights.

A relieved Australia wrapped up the series with Saturday's third match in Christchurch to play and become the first holders of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after the inaugural series last year was drawn 1-1.

It took all their energy to halt the momentum of a New Zealand chase which travelled along at nearly nine runs an over for the last 20 overs.

Aggressive contributions from Lou Vincent with 71, Chris Cairns 60, Jacob Oram 41 and McCullum 48 never let the required run rate get into double figures until late and they received a major boost in a dramatic 49th over bowled by Brett Lee which conceded 18 runs.

The second ball was a chest-high beam ball to McCullum which was parried away for four.

The delivery was called a no ball and Lee was warned by umpire Brent Bowden. Lee immediately followed up with a bouncer that was ruled wide by Bowden.

More drama followed on the fifth ball when Bowden belatedly called a no ball as the tourists had only three fielders inside the inner circle, sparking a heated discussion between the umpire and Australian captain Ricky Ponting.

McCullum's high-energy knock ended with a direct hit by Michael Clarke on the third ball of the last over bowled well under pressure by debutant paceman Mick Lewis.

Two balls later Mills was caught just short when diving for his crease when seeking a single.

The prospect of an improbable home win reared its head early in the Black Caps' chase when opener Vincent raced to 71 off just 49 balls, standing and delivering with nine fours and two sixes.

The last 44 runs of his innings came with the aid of a runner after Vincent suffered from a corked thigh.

When he fell with the score at 93 in the 15th over, the puff went out of the New Zealand innings, revived only when Cairns slogged Symonds for consecutive sixes.

New Zealand's fightback eclipsed a brutal innings from allrounder Symonds, his boundary-laden knock coming off 127 balls.

His fourth century was the third highest score in Australia's one-day history and easily the highest by a player in matches between the trans-Tasman rivals.

It was the fourth biggest individual score conceded by the Black Caps and the biggest on New Zealand soil.

Symonds' partnership of 220 in 172 balls with Clarke was just three runs off the world one-day record for the fifth wicket and was comfortably the biggest by either team for all wickets in games against each other.

Symonds blasted eight sixes to all parts of the ground and 12 fours, highlighting an innings that began sedately when Australia were in trouble at 50 for three before accelerating in menacing fashion.

He scored his last 56 runs off just 18 balls, as Australia compiled 65 off the last four overs of the innings, before being bowled by Daniel Vettori on the third last ball of the innings.

New Zealand could do little to stem the tide, Symonds' power and Clarke's varied strokeplay proving the perfect mix, allied with some sharp running between the wickets.

Clarke's unbeaten 82 came off 78 balls and included nine fours.

Both teams passed the previous highest one-day international score at the ground -- 307 for eight by New Zealand against Pakistan two years ago.

Today's two innings represented the third and fourth highest totals reached on New Zealand soil.

There were no apparent security problems tonight, the 16,000-strong crowd perhaps too engrossed by the batting feast to repeat the disorderly behaviour that marred the first match at Eden Park.

NZ V AUSTRALIA SCOREBOARD

* Scoreboard from the second match of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy one-day cricket series between New Zealand and Australia at Westpac Stadium tonight:-

Australia

A Gilchrist c Cairns b Mills 8
S Katich run out (H Marshall) 36
R Ponting c McCullum b Mills 28
B Hodge c H Marshall b Cairns 0
A Symonds b Vettori 156
M Clarke not out 82
M Hussey not out 1
Extras (4lb, 3w, 4nb) 11
Total (for 5 wkts, 50 overs) 322

Fall: 10 (Gilchrist), 47 (Ponting), 50 (Hodge), 101 (Katich), 321 (Symonds).
Bowling: K Mills 10-0-60-2 (2nb, 1w), J Franklin 4-0-36-0 (2nb, 1w), C Cairns 9-0-67-1, J Oram 5-0-39-0, S Styris 10-0-45-0 1w), D Vettori 10-0-51-1, N Astle 2-0-20-0.

New Zealand

L Vincent c Gilchrist b Lewis 71
N Astle c Clark b Lewis 22
C McMillan c Hussey b Clark 9
H Marshall lbw b Hogg 10
S Styris c and b Hogg 25
C Cairns c Lee b Lewis 60
J Oram c Clark b Lee 41
B McCullum run out 48
J Marshall run out 6
D Vettori not out 8
K Mills run out 0
Extras (10lb, 8w, 2nb) 20
Total (49.5 overs) 320

Fall: 93 (Vincent), 98 (Astle), 109 (McMillan), 134 (H Marshall), 156 (Styris), 233 (Cairns), 271 (Oram), 295 (J Marshall), 319 (McCullum), 320 (Mills).
Bowling: B Lee 10-0-85-1 (2nb, 3w), N Bracken 7-0-49-0, M Lewis 9.5-0-56-3, S Clark 10-0-49-1, B Hogg 7-0-34-2 (1w), A Symonds 6-0-37-0 (4w).

Result: Australia won by two runs. Australia lead three-match series 2-0.

- NZPA