The crushing 147-run defeat of the Black Caps by Australia has provoked a predictable out-pouring of glee on the other side of the Tasman.
New Zealand crashed to 105 all out, chasing Australia's 252 for 8 at Eden Park yesterday. The match was also marred by trouble in the stands,
with fruit and other objects thrown at paceman Brett Lee as he fielded in the deep.
Trevor Marshallsea, writing for Sydney-based Sun-Herald, said the Black Caps' best hope going into the game was the unproven nature of the Australian attack.
"But with Brett Lee stepping up to his role as leader of the attack magnificently, and with able support from fellow NSW quicks Nathan Bracken and Stuart Clark, the Australians had killed off their rivals and the match after just 11 overs of the Kiwi innings," Marshallsea said.
Adam Cooper in the Australian heaped similar praise on Lee, who he said "terrorised" the Black Caps.
He went on: "New Zealand's batsmen failed to offer as much trouble as their compatriots in the terraces as Lee unleashed a withering spell…
"Tonight he was frighteningly quick, bowling at speeds of up to 156 km/h and, such was the Black Caps' thinking, James Marshall ducked what he thought was going to be a bouncer only to be hit plumb in front."
Marshallsea blamed the Black Caps' woeful performance for the reaction of certain sections of supporters: "All that was left was for the raucous Eden Park crowd to start their pitch invasions in various states of undress and inebriation, throw objects onto the field, and taunt Lee on the boundary in the manner once reserved for Richard Hadlee by crowds in Australia."
The international coverage was no less scathing, the BBC saying Australia inflicted a "thrashing" and the Independent in South Africa noting New Zealand were "never in the hunt".
Back home, the assessment was as down as that elsewhere. Newstalk ZB said the Black Caps "have continued their downward spiral" and reported even stand-in captain Daniel Vettori describing the situation as "bleak".
