KEY POINTS:
MELBOURNE - Well, thank you very much. Just when it seemed New Zealand were about to stroll into the tri-series finals due to the lack of a third team - along came England to upset the bookmakers and blow the competition wide open.
It might have taken them 94 days, but the English have managed to turn up the pressure on New Zealand in no uncertain terms, bringing the tri-series back to life with two games left before the finals.
The permutations for New Zealand - who share second place on nine points with their fellow tourists - are now uncomplicated.
To make the finals, they need either to beat a fired-up and mightily peeved Australian side at the McG today, or prevail in a winner-takes-all showdown against a much more confident England side at Brisbane on Tuesday.
The corpse-sitting-upright-in-the-coffin story came as a huge jolt for the Australian public, as newspapers advised readers to sit down, and ran headlines like "Stop Press: England win", and "Shock, Horror - Poms prevail."
But, while the punters were celebrating the arrival of their long-awaited contest, the result is unlikely to be received so joyfully in the New Zealand camp, even though yesterday they were embracing it as a welcome challenge.
The official line seemed to be that, because New Zealand were wanting to be under maximum pressure during the tri-series in order to best prepare for the World Cup, the latest development could hardly have been more timely.
If that's the case, imagine how delighted they'll be tonight if they're beaten by Australia and thrown into a virtual semifinal in Brisbane - against an England side who've been to hell and back, and are starting to play as if they have nothing left to fear.
The knife-edge finish is poised to play a hand in how coach John Bracewell selects his line-up for today's game (forecast to be played in 38degC) and the logistically difficult but possibly critical game against England.
Just as with the tri-series in 2001-02, the most susceptible New Zealand players are starting to show signs of wear and tear, in particular paceman Shane Bond and spin-bowler Daniel Vettori; even newcomer Jacob Oram.
Today's decision over Bond looms as the most vital, followed closely by the choice of batsman to miss the cut should Scott Styris slot straight back into the line-up.
The way things are panning out, if Bond plays today and New Zealand lose, and then cannot back-up in time for what would be a must-win match against England, Bracewell might cut a fairly agitated figure.
Then again, having been in based Melbourne since Wednesday, he must surely be tempted to play Bond today against familiar quarry, rather than take the risk of having his back seize up after the flight to Brisbane, and having to do without him anyway.
Which brings us to the batting. Presuming Bracewell drafts Styris straight back into the middle-order, the logical player to make way would be Craig McMillan, on the grounds that they offer a similar skill-set, and would be called on to play much the same role with bat and ball.
Peter Fulton, the only other batsman likely to be in the mix, may escape on the grounds that he bats at No. 3 and No. 4, whereas Styris is expected to slot in at No. 4 or No. 5 and offer a front-line option with the ball.
New Zealand doubtless sense an opportunity today, having watched Australia not only badly beaten in Sydney, but also suffer the loss of their talismanic all-rounder Andrew Symonds to a bicep injury - a setback expected to leave him on the sidelines.
New Zealand
Stephen Fleming (c), Lou Vincent, Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, Mark Gillespie, Michael Mason, Jeetan Patel.
Australia
Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting , Brad Hodge, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Mike Hussey, Cameron White, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait, Brad Hogg.
