KEY POINTS:
Australia's cricket World Cup preparations suffered another embarrassing setback tonight as a Shane Bond-inspired New Zealand gleefully added to the reigning champions' woes with a 10-wicket defeat at Westpac Stadium in Wellington today.
After a relative lull during the recent Commonwealth Bank Tri-Series, Bond resurrected his role as Australia's chief tormentor, taking five for 23 as New Zealand made the perfect start to their plans to annex the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy for the first time.
It was Australia's first loss by 10 wickets in a history spanning 646 one-day internationals. They managed just 148 in 49.3 overs and New Zealand surpassed that total in the 27th.
Studded with milestones for New Zealand, captain Stephen Fleming and Lou Vincent peeled off the runs required with contemptuous ease to erase Ken Rutherford and Bruce Edgar's 21-year-old opening wicket mark of 125 set at Lancaster Park.
Vincent iced a morale-boosting victory by slamming Mitchell Johnson over the fence at backward square to be unbeaten on 73.
Fleming, who won a crucial toss, was undefeated on 70 when the pursuit was completed before 19,241 surprised but happy fans.
While the New Zealand openers made batting look comparatively easy, Bond's demolition job spread over three spells ensured the visitors were nowhere near as comfortable as he snared his fourth five-wicket bag in one-dayers -- and third against Australia.
Bond, who took a combined four for 125 off 19 overs in the Tri-Series, now has 33 wickets in 10 games against Australia at a remarkable rate of 13.36 runs apiece.
He swiftly removed makeshift opener Phil Jaques and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin to plunge Australia into early strife at 16 for two and later took a stunning return catch to remove a disbelieving Cameron White as the innings lurched at 108 for six in the 40th over.
By then it was becoming apparent a side missing the class of Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke and Brett Lee were ripe for the picking.
The defeat, following England's 2-0 victory in the Tri-Series finals last week, is the first time since 2002-03 in the West Indies that Australia have dropped three consecutive games. They are now at risk of losing their No 1 ranking before next month's World Cup in the West Indies.
Only Michael Hussey offered any resistance on a wicket offering prodigious movement and his 96-ball 44 encapsulated an innings that deteriorated at high speed.
In stark contrast, Fleming and Vincent rocketed to the finish line although their assignment was made easier by some uncharacteristically shambolic fielding.
Vincent, on 44, was heading to the pavilion assuming a skied pull shot would be taken by bowler Mitchell Johnson or Brad Hodge but neither failed to react quickly enough.
The opener's rich vein of form was also aided by a muffed run-out chance when on 33 -- after New Zealand had eased any nerves by confidently posting their 50 in 67 balls.
Fleming, pilloried for his pedestrian century against England when New Zealand were eliminated from the Tri-Series, had some anxious moments early but grew more assured and clipped eight fours and two sixes in his 76-ball knock. Vincent pounded an identical ratio of boundaries in his 11th one-day 50.
Understandably, Fleming was savouring the emphatic victory but emphasised the New Zealanders needed to complete the job at either Eden Park on Sunday or Hamilton on Tuesday.
"It probably releases the pressure tap a little bit but not enough to sit back and say 'job done'. Beating Australia twice in a row is something we desperately want to do."
After coming close to toppling the world champions at both Sydney and Perth during the Tri-Series, Fleming said it was a huge boost to finally "get across the line".
Meanwhile, his counterpart Hussey extracted no positives from one of Australia's heaviest one-day defeats.
"We just weren't up to scratch. It was a good toss to win and they got plenty of movement out of the wicket," he said.
"I was hopeful a couple of early wickets would give us a chance but we couldn't get any momentum."
"I'm pretty keen for Ricky (Ponting) to come back," he quipped.
Scoreboard
Australia
M Hayden c Fleming b Gillespie 14
P Jaques c Vettori b Bond 1
B Haddin b Bond 6
M Hussey c Taylor b McMillan 42
B Hodge c Fleming b Vettori 22
C White c and b Bond 13
S Watson c Bond b Vettori 8
B Hogg b Bond 20
M Johnson c Oram b Gillespie 8
N Bracken b Bond 0
G McGrath not out 5
Extras (1b, 2lb, 5w, 1nb) 9
Total (all out, 49.3 overs) 148
Fall: 3 (Jaques), 16 (Haddin), 45 (Hayden), 86 (Hodge), 98 (Hussey), 108 (White), 120 (Watson), 133 (Johnson), 133 (Bracken), 148 (Hogg)
Bowling: D Tuffey 8-0-29-0 (1w), S Bond 9.3-2-23-5 (1nb, 2w), M Gillespie 9-0-27-2 (1w), J Oram 10-0-22-0, S Styris 2-0-15-0 (1w), C McMillan 2-0-3-1, Vettori 9-1-26-2.
New Zealand
L Vincent not out 73
S Fleming not out 70
Extras (3lb, 2w, 1nb) 6
Total (for 0 wkt, 27 overs) 149
Bowling: G McGrath 6-1-23-0 (1nb), N Bracken 7-1-30-0, M Johnson 8-0-49-0 (1w), S Watson 4-0-28-0, B Hogg 2-0-16-0 (1w).
Result: New Zealand win by 10 wickets, lead three-match series 1-0.
- NZPA
