Cricket: Series slips away from Black Caps

Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin takes the bails off as New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum makes his ground at Eden Park yesterday. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Australia deservedly retained the Chappell Hadlee Trophy with a six-wicket win in the fourth ODI at Eden Park last night.

And no complaints from New Zealand either. Chasing their hosts' inadequate 238, Australia got home with 17 balls to spare to take a 3-1 lead in the five-game series, which ends in Wellington tomorrow.

Misty drizzle between innings meant two recalculations under the Duckworth Lewis rain rules. Eventually Australia needed 200 off 34 overs, which sounded rather generous to New Zealand after their ordinary batting effort.

Australia lost 16 overs and had their target reduced by only 39. Strange indeed.

It still meant New Zealand needed everything to go their way in the field.

A fired-up Shane Bond removed in-form Brad Haddin in his first over. However New Zealand certainly didn't need to see master batsman Ricky Ponting given a life by umpire Asad Rauf on 19 when Daryl Tuffey had him bang to rights with an lbw appeal.

When Shane Watson and Ponting then peeled off 34 off 12 balls the die seemed cast.

However Dan Vettori winkled out both batsmen lbw within six deliveries and the door was ajar for New Zealand.

Man of the match Cameron White and Adam Voges' 65-run stand for the fourth wicket put Australia back in charge.

"A couple of our bowlers didn't really stand up. Bondy and myself tried to put some pressure on but when you're relieving it at one end it makes it very difficult," Vettori said afterwards.

In the same breath he could have given the batting collective a slap too for once again letting the side down.

Pride would on the line in Wellington, he added, and Vettori spoke of the good vibe victory there would produce going into the test series.

For the second time in three days New Zealand were dismissed well inside their 50 overs. At Hamilton they left 3.4 overs unused. This time, they were rolled in 44.1 overs, which was an ODI batting crime. Call that 30 runs, minimum, squandered.

It all began promisingly, Martin Guptill going stroke for stroke with Brendon McCullum.

But having creamed two fours in Shane Watson's opening over, Guptill, adrenalin pumping, drove loosely at the next ball to be caught at short cover. It was near identical dismissal to Hamilton on Tuesday.

Things went wrong from there. The run rate was fine; the steady leaking of wickets was not.

New Zealand fell into a fug, seemingly unsure of a clear policy. Five wickets fell for 34 in 11 overs.

Incredibly, on a ground with some of the shortest boundaries in the international game, New Zealand couldn't find the rope between the 18th and 39th overs.

Chipping, nurdling and cribbing singles is all very well, but New Zealand needed to find the fence and, with the exception of McCullum, who bounced four balls into the crowd or off the concrete wall of the new south stand, the specialists and allrounders were not up to the job.

Soft dismissals were the order of the day. However big seamer Tuffey, whose batting has been a minor revelation this summer, clubbed four sixes in seven balls - three in succession off tidy offspinner Nathan Hauritz - in his 17-ball 34 to revive things.

New Zealand's power play went wrong too. They called for it at the start of the 42nd over - and Gareth Hopkins was caught behind next ball.

Australia's bowlers plugged away strongly, making life difficult, but Mitchell Johnson is their class act.

"We kept being aggressive with the ball and it paid off for us again today," Ponting said.