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Australia win by two wickets
What an anti-climax to a sensational game of cricket. Cam Green ramps, a rain delay and then a wide that led to the game-winning run mean the last half hour of this contest has been sold out, but don’t forget about the fireworks beforehand.
Boult and Henry reduced Australia to 44-5 before a sixth stand of 158 from Carey (85) and Green (89*) brought the Aussies within striking distance of victory.
But three wickets for five runs swung the momentum again, but Green battled the cramp and had an able partner in Zampa to see the job home.
Stick around for the post-game pressers.
45th over: Australia 232-8 (Green 89, Zampa 13) After a three-minute rain delay, Zampa took a check from the offside and then a touch down the ground leveled the scores.
Rain delay with Australia only 4 behind
Cricket really doesn’t help itself at times. The umpires have called for a rain delay, but the players have not left the field even though the covers are being put up. Zampa just bowled a sweep off Santner to the cow corner boundary for four to bring Australia to the brink of victory, but play was stopped by the umpires. Fair to them, it’s raining, but not enough to justify all this malarky with only four needed for a correct result. The farce is amplified because Kiwis are left out.
44th over: Australia 223-8 (Green 88, Zampa 5) I feel bad for questioning the authenticity of Green’s cramping. He’s really struggling there. He limps and looks in pain. When it can hold, however, it seems immense. A whip from Ferguson sends the ball to the leg side boundary at pace and he stutters for a single. Zampa is happy to keep the score with a last-ball single to bring the required target down to 10. Ferguson can’t find the breakthrough though he comes relatively close off the first ball, but his yorker squeezes the stumps of Green.
43rd over: Australia 217-8 (Green 83, Zampa 4) Not good from Santner, who makes it easy for Zampa to hit a first-ball single with a hip flick. He then bowls a wide to Green outside off stump before Green takes a single. Zampa is comfortable for the rest of the set. Ferguson to Green on the next lap. This could be the contest.
42nd over: Australia 214-8 (Green 82, Zampa 0) We finally finish the 42nd over after that long break. Green belted his first ball after receiving treatment for cramps behind the paddock with a powerful pull, knocking four off the required target. The over started with one wicket but New Zealand need two more. Crucially, Zampa is on strike for the next round.
Cam Green comes down with cramps
I’m not saying the big boy is performing, but it’s a convenient break for him as he looks to guide the Aussie tail with 23 more runs needed for victory. He has lost three partners in a very short time. He is getting full treatment from the physio who is working hard on both legs.
WICKET! Starc c Mitchell b Ferguson 1 (Australia 207-8)
Australia have lost their third wicket for five runs in a brief spell that has turned the game on its head. Green is stuck on the other end watching his teammates implode. This last wicket is tame as Starc links a simple catch to midwicket off a regulation length ball from Ferguson.
41st over: Australia 206 (Green 78, Starc 1) That’s the end of Trent Boult, who was unplayable with the new ball. 3-12 from his first five overs turned into 4-40 from his 10. That last set started with Maxwell’s big scalp and cost three stingy runs. But now that he is out of the equation, Australia will still be fancied despite having a recognized batsman left.
WICKET! Maxwell c Neesham b Boult 2 (Australia 205-7)
what has he done Glenn Maxwell pants off this one but Jimmy Neesham takes a stunner at deep backward square rope. Maxwell’s hard pulse on Boult looked destined for a maximum, but the Kiwi on the fence has caught at the last second. Another twist. 28 necessary. Three doors. Which direction is it going?
40th over: Australia 205-6 (Green 78, Maxwell 2) Success from Ferguson, who has bowled better than his numbers suggest. Just three runs from the end. New Zealand with a whiff, but just a whiff.
WICKET! Carey c Henry b Ferguson 85 (202-6)
now then Don’t go anywhere because we have a game here. Out of nowhere, New Zealand have a lifeline as Carey misfires his first shot in an era as he crosses on the back foot straight to Henry at mid-on. He tries to catch Ferguson’s shorter ball but can’t get it. A wonderful strike comes to an end. It’s still Australia’s game when Maxwell comes on.
39th over: Australia 202-5 (Carey 85, Green 77) 150-run partnership. You’ll have to do a lot of digging to find a better join in the middle for an ODI chase than this one. They are not there yet, but they will almost certainly face their goal. They combined to go 44-5. Now 31 off 66 balls thanks to that expensive Boult worth 11 runs. Carey nails the Kiwi spearhead over cover with a leisurely flourish and then Green muscles one over the infield through the side.
guaranteed
oh no Australia will win another World Cup with a nonsensical batting strategy, won’t they?
— Nakul Pande (@NakulMPande) September 6, 2022
FALL! Is this the game?
Oh no! Boult has made a mess of what should have been a regulation catch at fine leg. Ferguson’s extra pace rushes Green’s shot and takes the top edge and flies into the deep. Boult settles in but doesn’t get under it and is forced to get his hands off his body. He barely puts a finger on it and lands meekly on the grass.
Green ends the over with a sensational drive down the ground, hitting the middle of the bat as he screams to the boundary. That encapsulates that partnership. Everything works for the Aussies, nothing goes the way of the Black Caps.
38th over: Australia 191-5 (Carey 78, Green 73)
37th over: Australia 184-5 (Carey 76, Green 68) Too easy for the Aussies. Santner has been milked like a willing dairy cow. Four singles here as Australia take the required runs below 50.
The more things change…
This happens like the ODI in England two years back when Aus were 80 odd for 5 and then chased down 303 or something with Carey and Maxwell making hundreds.#AUSvNZ
— Rohit Sankar (@imRohit_SN) September 6, 2022
36th over: Australia 181-5 (Carey 74, Green 67) Matt Henry has run out and his final ball is deposited on the stumps by Cam Green, who takes a shot as if receiving a pitch. Henry’s 10 overs are worth 2-50, but those four take the partnership to 137, the highest ever for Australia’s sixth wicket against New Zealand. They needed 52 for victory. Who would bet against them?
35th over: Australia 171-5 (Carey 72, Green 59) The first wicket after the cup break is eventful. Santner unleashes a huge pull for lbw as he puts Carey on the track. The ball skids under the batsman’s shot, but on review he has hit it outside the off-stump line. Good job by the field umpire. Salt is rubbed into the wound after the ball as Carey plays a wonderful drive that dribbles to the long-on boundary. Textbook stroke with enough elevation. As Ian Smith said in the comms, this is the sign of a good batsman’s pitch.
Take a bite of that peach
Updated at 12.11 BST
34th over: Australia 166-5 (Carey 68, Green 58) Time for a drink. The last few Australian Cups were in a world of trouble. They are now cruising to a comfortable victory thanks to an unbeaten sixth stand of 122. Once the ball stopped swinging, Carey and Green were unfazed by the Kiwi seamers and spinners. This last over from Henry (his ninth of the match) is dealt with comfortably. It’s only worth three runs with two singles and a wide. But racing is not a problem. Australia need 67 from the remaining 16 overs. New Zealand needs a port and they need one fast.
33rd over: Australia 163-5 (Carey 67, Green 57) Now even Boult is capricious. His cross-seam half-tracker is punished by Green over the top and is sent hard to the backward point boundary. This means the Aussies can play it safe for the rest of the set and Green takes a beofer Carey takes two and then one. It’s a simple game for the hosts.
Side note, do you love the stained seats in Queensland stadiums that much? They are so big. You instantly know where you are when you see them.
32nd over: Australia 159-5 (Carey 64, Green 52) It looks very easy for Australia right now. I don’t think these two will ever lose their grip. Henry starts with a no-ball and strays into Carey’s pads a few balls later. The effortless stroke for four is a sign of how well he is seeing it. Two singles to end the end. New Zealand seems bereft of ideas at the moment. What a twist in this game.
31st over: Australia 148-5 (Carey 59, Green 51) There’s no swing for Boult and it’s much easier to manage now than when he was circling the curves. Four singles, two from each batsman, take the pair to 104. Australia were staring at a humiliating 44-5 defeat. They now need 80 to win with Glenn Maxwell still to come.
Maiden 50 for Cam Green
A bit of spin from Boult means 23-year-old Cameron Donald Green has his first international half-century. There is still a long way to go, but this is very good from the young people.
30th over: Australia 144-5 (Carey 57, Green 49) 100 partnership with Australia. Great from these two. An excellent fightback to drag his side into a realistic chance of winning a game they were basically knocked out of in the opening exchanges. Seven of this Ferguson is over and easily dealt with. Pace is not a problem for the Aussies.
Ferguson will have to “unlock” this partnership. Sorry.