Cricket: Twose in limelight as Kiwis stand tall

By Richard Boock

CARDIFF - The World Cup spotlight has fallen not on the man many expected to be crowned its batting king, but on the jester who once joked he was the better player.

Roger Twose, fondly remembered in these parts for the note he penned to his newly-arrived Wawrickshire team-mate Brian Lara - "Welcome to the second-best left-hander in the world" - was yesterday bathing in the attention of the international cricket media, after leading New Zealand to an astonishing five-wicket win over Australia at Sophia Gardens.

His unbeaten 80 against an Australian attack including Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne had most of the English press (who remember him as a player of modest means) rubbing their eyes, wondering if he could possibly be the same person who was trundling the county scene five or six years previously.

The 31-year-old Wellington batsman starred in a record, match-winning, fifth-wicket partnership of 148 with Chris Cairns as New Zealand beat Australia for only the second time in World Cup history, taking a decisive step towards a place in the Super Six stage in the process.

New Zealand left for Southampton yesterday to prepare for Monday's showdown against the West Indies, knowing a win there would almost guarantee them a place in the second round.

Not exactly raging outsiders at Cardiff, New Zealand were a long way from being favourites as well, and had to show great all-round character to win this one, restricting Australia to 213 and then fighting back from a near terminal top-order slump.

They were struggling during the middle stages of the Australian innings as Darren Lehmann - who top-scored for his side with 76 - combined with Ricky Ponting in a third-wicket partnership worth 94, and were again a step away from disaster when their fourth wicket fell at 49.

New Zealand's leading runscorer in the recent one-day series against India and South Africa, Twose had a measure of luck early on, rightly surviving on a third-umpire's call after edging into the slips, and later being caught at deep backward square-leg off a McGrath no-ball, but soon found the pace of the pitch and set about restoring his team's fortunes.

His second World Cup 50 arrived off 72 balls as he and Cairns began threatening, and eventually broke, their own New Zealand record for the fifth-wicket, scored against India at Pune in 1995-96.

Cairns' effort was just as critical, and one could sense by the amount of time he took to play himself in that something special might be in the offing, although by the time he had finished, the only special Glamorgan officials were interested in was the one advertising low prices on cricket balls.

Of his three sixes, two landed and sank without trace in the nearby River Taff, and the other flew flat and straight and demolished a promotional billboard. His second World Cup half-century arrived off 70 balls, and by the time he departed at 197, he had also struck five fours.

But as much as Twose and Cairns deserved praise, there were several others who made critical contributions, none more so than opening bowler Geoff Allott, who bowled two superb spells to keep his team in the hunt.

Allott, whose four wickets brought his tally after two games to seven, sent back both Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist inside the first nine overs, and then returned to bowl Michael Bevan (rated the world's best one-day batsman) and Shane Warne with superb reverse-swinging deliveries.

New Zealand's fielding was also of the highest standard, both on the ground and in the air.

The Kiwis have now turned their full attention to the game at Southampton, and for perhaps the first time ever, will go into a World Cup match against the West Indies with an edge in points and favouritism.