WELLINGTON — After a pause to catch their breath, Australia and New Zealand have begun to pick over the bones of Saturday's thrilling Cricket World Cup match at Eden Park, eager to determine what it tells them about the teams and the tournament. Had New Zealand won emphatically, as it seemed it might do when it bowled out Australia for 151, it might have said it had usurped Australia as the tournament favorite. But the teams were shown to be so evenly matched, with both possessing outstanding swing attacks which meant one mis-hit made the difference, that the secrets the match holds may take time to unearth.
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said “I think there will be a lot of learnings from it.” One of the obvious conclusions is that batsmen from both sides aren't entirely comfortable against top-class swing bowling, especially when that swing is achieved with ruthless accuracy and at speeds of more than 145kmh. Trent Boult took 5-27 for New Zealand delivering just that kind of assault, bowling three of his victims, while Mitchell Starc for Australia, bowling a few clicks faster, took 6-28. “There was some high quality swing bowling,” Hesson said. “I think we saw once the lacquer came off the ball, the ball started to swing more which is probably a character trait of the Dukes ball rather than the white Kookaburra. “That's unusual and that's something that I guess two white balls can show that you can have bowler-dominated games as well.” Australia captain Michael Clarke admitted his batsmen might have erred in their preparation for the match by practicing their power games more than their defense against the swinging delivery. But there may have been little defense against swing bowling of the quality Boult and Starc produced throughout the game and any re-match between the teams seems likely to again be bowler dominated. “I think Mitchell Starc normally swings the new ball, swings it for an over or so,” said Hesson. “But, as I said, the fact that the ball swung in his second spell more than the first was unexpected. “I think Tim (Southee) showed that (against England in Wellington). I think the characteristics of the ball sometimes (play a part) and sometimes there's just a high-pressure zone created somewhere that allows it to swing. “That's something that we're going to prepare for and look at doing better next time.” The importance of Saturday's match was much debated before it took place and is still being questioned a day after its completion. New Zealand's fourth-straight win means that, with matches remaining in Pool A against Afghanistan and Bangladesh, it is likely to finish atop the pool and ahead of Australia. The win also likely gave New Zealand a psychological boost as several of its players — Boult among them — had never played a One-Day International against Australia. “There's always a bit of mystique surrounding Australia,” Hesson said. “I think we'll be far better off for having that game against them. “Obviously where you're ranked in pool play is hugely significant not only in terms of where you play and who you play (in the quarterfinals) and if there's rain later in the tournament where you're positioned is very important. “So (the win) gives us a good chance to further progress in the tournament.” — AP
