Cricket: Aussie fans refuse to admit defeat

Brendon McCullum (L) and Martin Guptill celebrate last night’s thrilling win against Australia in Christchurch. Photo / NZPA

Australian cricket fans seem to be in denial over their Twenty20 loss to New Zealand in Christchurch last night.

The Black Caps ended Australia's unbeaten run this summer at a packed AMI stadium, winning a 'super over' eliminator after the teams finished tied on 214.

Having witnessed the Baggy Greens romp through home tours against the West Indies and Pakistan with minimal fuss, some one-eyed Australian fans are taking the loss to their transtasman neighbours particularly hard and venting their frustrations in a Daily Telegraph forum on the game.

Simmo of Sydney said: "A draw... this is the closest the Kiwis will get to beating Australia," while DrewP was much more forthright in his view of the match.

"Hello - did you morons not watch the game - it was a tie! Aussies are still undefeated this summer! That stupid 1-1 'match' they played afterwards was the most stupidest thing I have ever witnessed!!!"

Man of the match Brendon McCullum set up New Zealand's total with an unbeaten 116 off just 56 balls - the second highest score in Twenty20 internationals - but it was pace bowler Tim Southee who led the Black Caps to the historic win.

Southee produced a superb spell of death bowling to ensure the match finished in a tie and backed that up by conceding just six runs in the extra over, leaving Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill to hit the winning runs off an erratic Shaun Tait.

Tait was the complete opposite to Southee, bowling two wides to hand New Zealand the momentum heading into the five-match ODI series.

Meanwhile, the Australian media were relatively subdued in their reaction to the loss, reserving most of the blame for Tait's tie-breaker shocker.

"Tait was given the responsibility of bowling the return over, and it wasn't one of his best," wrote the Sydney Morning Herald's Will Swanton under the headline "Tait loses the plot as McCullum plunders ton".

"Tait's second ball was one of the widest wides of all time."

The Daily Telegraph praised the quality of the contest, describing the match as "perhaps the most thrilling Twenty20 clash in history".

"So this is what it takes to end Australia's invincible summer," Greg Buckle wrote.

"It was a historic moment but, having done their part in setting up the thrilling tiebreaker, Australia's challenge fizzled."

- NZ HERALD STAFF