The Age found New Zealand's one wicket victory last night so stressful that all it could do was scream. Meanwhile the Australian just seemed depressed and unsurprised. The Herald Sun tries to focus on the positive (Hayden's innings) and then lets the facade slip at the end with an angry demand that Australia's bowlers offer an apology.
On this side of the Tasman the Herald begins with a comprehensive look at Craig McMillan's record breaking century and then jumps to Richard Boock who struggles to find enough superlatives. Geoff Longley in the Press can't help but notice that it was Canterbury players who took the New Zealand side to victory while the Dominion-Post's Jonathan Millmow is another who just can't stop babbling about McMillan's knock.
The result has moved New Zealand to third in the international ODI rankings. Only South Africa and Australia are above us. The Chappell-Hadlee series also gave a boost to several players' individual ratings. The batting charts still aren't that flash, but Fleming is up to 24 and the patch between 43 and 49 is owned by New Zealand (Fulton and McMillan share 43, Vincent is at 45, and Styris and Taylor follow at 48 and 49). The bowling charts see Dan Vettori climb to a dizzy 4 and Shane Bond claw his way back up to 7. The injured Kyle Mills is still lurking at 15 and Jacob Oram is at 25. It is interesting to note that behind McGrath (2) and Lee (6), the next Australian bowlers to rank are Hogg and Watson - way back at 33 and 42 respectively.
I guess it is time for a few apologies to John Bracewell to start flowing. So here comes mine - well done Braces, and sorry for doubting your selection policies and tactics. You were right.
Wednesday, 21 February 2007
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The next match is less than 2 weeks away - a warmup against Bangladesh on Tues 6 March and then against Sri Lanka on Fri 9th. Then a week later until England.
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