Australia eye Chappell-Hadlee Trophy
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Stats and
trivia
* New Zealand have won 28 of
61 ODIs at Eden Park, but only three of those successes have
occurred in the past five years
* Daniel Vettori, who scored
70 there on Saturday, is only 155 runs short of joining the
elite ODI group of players to have 2000 runs and 200
wickets. There are currently only 11 other members
* Cameron White’s
strike-rate of 221.05 from his 42 off 19 balls in 2007 is
the second highest strike-rate for an innings at the
stadium, but it didn’t help Australia win |
The most important match of the series, as the players described it,
went to Australia. They now hold a 2-1 lead with two matches to play and
victory in Auckland will ensure they retain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy
that they won at home in December 2007 and retained through a drawn
series in Australia last February.
Their win on Tuesday in Hamilton was easily their most complete
performance of the tour as their bowlers fired early and dismissed New
Zealand, before the top-order batsmen clicked and a centurion was found.
Michael Clarke’s dash home to see his fiancée didn’t upset their balance
and they will be looking to turn the final game in Wellington into a
dead rubber.
New Zealand have only ever won the Chappell-Hadlee Series outright on
one occasion, when they triumphed in a 3-0 clean-sweep at home in early
2007. Their chances of back-to-back home wins rest on this game. They
have been hurt over the past two matches by injuries to key players:
Ross Taylor (leg) and James Franklin (hamstring) in the second game and
then Daryl Tuffey (calf) in the third match.
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