KEY POINTS:
If Stephen Fleming was serious when he welcomed the extra pressure this week, then he should be near delirious now - after New Zealand blew their final chance to avoid a sudden-death showdown against England.
Having found a silver-lining to England's shock win over Australia on Friday, the New Zealand skipper was last night contemplating an even bigger emergency after his side lost to the hosts by five wickets, with 10 balls remaining.
Australia's ground-record chase of 291 for five means the winner of tomorrow's England-New Zealand contest at Brisbane will proceed directly to the best-of-three tri-series finals, leaving the loser to pack their bags for the trip home.
For a while it seemed New Zealand were destined to avoid the final game crisis, having set Australia a steep chase and then rid themselves of the threat of openers Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden before any major damage was inflicted.
But Ricky Ponting returned from injury to play another innings of sheer mastery, bringing up his second consecutive century (both scored against New Zealand) off 105 balls as his side responded to their surprise loss to England, and the absence of injured all-rounder Andrew Symonds.
Arriving at the crease after James Franklin winkled out the two openers, Ponting was in full command while raising his half-century off 57 balls, forging a 47-run partnership with Michael Clarke for the third wicket and a match-deciding 154-run stand with Brad Hodge for the fourth.
The Australian skipper - who eventually fell for 104 in the 47th over - has now posted 22 ODI centuries, one less than Sourav Ganguly and Sanath Jayasuriya, but still well short of Sachin Tendulkar's world record 41.
While his milestone was fabulously received by the 48,124-strong crowd, hometown batsman Hodge was treated to similar hero status as he posted his second ODI half-century off 58 deliveries, before ending unbeaten on 99.
The run-chase was the highest at the McG since the West Indies made 273 for six to beat Australia in 1984-85, and it left New Zealand nursing their 20th loss against Ponting's side in their past 22 clashes, dating back to the 2001-02 tri-series.
Of the New Zealand bowlers, only Scott Styris escaped relatively unscathed; Australia's late innings rampage proving so destructive that even front-liners such as Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori were rendered harmless.
Despite Fleming's on-going struggle for form, New Zealand at least had something to smile about when they batted, as Lou Vincent and Peter Fulton added 151 for the second wicket to break the previous record against Australia of 128.
Vincent, in the news all week after his sledging accusations, backed up his comments with his third consecutive ODI half-century, and appeared on track for his second career hundred before being bowled off his pads for 90.
A revelation since being rushed to Perth as a replacement for Nathan Astle a week earlier, the Auckland right-hander brought up his 50 off 64 balls, having struck five fours along the way, and a lofted six off fast-bowler Brett Lee.
The stand was the highest against Australia since Vincent and Astle struck gold at Adelaide in the 2001-02 tri-series, and Mathew Sinclair and Astle repeated the dose in the inaugural Chappell-Hadlee one-dayer three seasons later.
For Fulton in particular, his 60 off 81 balls would have come as something of a relief, given it was just his first score over 50 since he struck a century against Sri Lanka more than a year - or 19 ODI innings - ago.
Having been preferred to Craig McMillan in a line-up that welcomed back Styris and Mark Gillespie, Fulton responded to the pressure in impressive fashion, raising his third ODI fifty off a measured 68 balls, while striking three boundaries.
NEW ZEALAND
L. Vincent b Tait 90
S. Fleming c Hussey b Lee 9
P. Fulton lbw b Clarke 60
R. Taylor b Clarke 21
S. Styris c Hussey b Clark 34
J. Oram c Hodge b Lee 15
B. McCullum b Clark 19
D. Vettori not out 3
J. Franklin not out 13
Extras (2b, 11lb, 9w, 4nb) 26
- Total (for 7 wkts, 50 overs) 290
Fall: 1/12, 2/163, 3/188, 4/212, 5/233, 6/269, 7/275.
Bowling: B. Lee 10-0-71-2 (3nb, 4w), S. Tait 10-1-26-1, S. Clark 10-1-61-2 (1nb, 1w), M. Johnson 7-0-48-0 (1w), M. Clarke 9-0-45-2 (2w), C. White 4-0-26-0 (1w).
AUSTRALIA
A. Gilchrist b Franklin 29
M. Hayden c Taylor b Franklin 28
R. Ponting c Vincent b Gillespie 104
M. Clarke c McCullum b Vettori 9
B. Hodge not out 99
M. Hussey run out (Vincent, Oram) 8
C. White not out 1
Extras (1lb, 3w, 9nb) 13
- Total (for 5 wickets; 48.2 overs) 291
Fall: 1/56, 2/65, 3/112, 4/266, 5/279.
Bowling: Franklin 10-0-56-2 (2nb), Bond 9-0-64-0 (2nb, 1w), Gillespie 8.2-0-45-1 (1nb), Oram 5-0-44-0 (1nb), Vettori 10-0-55-1 (2nb, 2w), Styris 6-0-26-0.
Result: Australia won by five wickets.
