"The Kiwis set a total of 307 for Australia to chase, with a man of the match performance from Martin Guptill the highlight of the innings. With an achievable total to run down, Australia did themselves no favours at the start of their innings, losing 6-41 within the first 10 overs. A partnership from Matthew Wade and James Faulkner looked to steady the ship, but it was not enough to keep it from sinking," wrote the Telegraph.
The Sydney Morning Herald was equally damning of the Aussie effort in the Chapple-Hadlee opener at Eden Park.
"Australia's turbo-charged Eden Park meltdown has brutally highlighted the difficulties Steve Smith's men will face in New Zealand this month as they aim to regain the No.1 Test ranking," the paper told its readers before adding: "Shaun Marsh is again in the firing line, in danger of losing his place to Usman Khawaja, after again nicking off cheaply with (Steve) Smith forecasting changes for the must-win second game in Wellington."
The 159-run capitulation to a rampant Black Caps outfit may have come in the 50-over arena but it inspired little confidence for success in the upcoming Test series, said the Herald.
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"The heavy loss has put the one-day world champion's run of seven consecutive series victories in grave danger and again shone the spotlight on Australia's weakness against the swinging ball," noted the media outler.
"Smith disputed claims the ball was swinging, which means he is either in denial about Australia's problems or casts the collapse in an even darker light.
"The shellshocked Australians, who crumbled inside 25 overs before the lights had taken full effect, have just two days to work on their flaws before the second match in Wellington and little over a week until the first Test."
The Herald stated that the "flat tracks of home must now seem a world away for Australia's batsmen, whose torrent of runs slowed to a trickle against a red-hot Kiwi pace attack. Just as they did when they visited the same venue in the World Cup, Australia folded with the bat, dismissed for a paltry 148 after collapsing to 6-41 in nine dramatic overs."
The paper also noted the "alarming speed at which the visitors' batsmen unravelled must have brought an uneasy sense of deja vu to any Australian fan with the debacle at Trent Bridge still at the forefront of their mind. Whereas that disintegration occurred on a treacherous deck, the wicket at Eden Park was hardly a batsman's graveyard. It had earlier played true enough for the Kiwis to amass 307".
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The Telegraph told its readers that there "had been a suspicion all summer that Australia's new-look batting line-up had been shielded by a combination of benign tracks and poor opposition. This performance will do little to dispel those doubts".
Worryingly for Australia, the XI in Auckland contained three of the likely top six for the first Test, including senior pair Smith and David Warner, added the paper.
"Worse still, the Black Caps were without gun paceman Tim Southee, who is on track to return for the Trans Tasman series," said the paper. "There will also be concerns at why Australia's bowlers were unable to extract the same movement through the air as Trent Boult and Matt Henry."
"While Warner would have had his lbw decision overturned had he referred upstairs, his teammates found all manner of ways to get out - from poor shot selection (Bailey), to a questionable technique (Mitchell Marsh) and the downright freaky (Maxwell).
"There was no sign of the woe that was to befall Australia's innings while the Kiwis were at the crease, even taking into consideration their moderate last 20 overs.
"Martin Guptill - a perennial Test underachiever but one-day dynamo - and Brendon McCullum made batting look ridiculously easy against the new ball."
SCOREBOARD
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MANHATTAN
