Australia eyeing series win
Australia go into the fourth ODI at Auckland with a 2-1 advantage and will look for a win to take an unbeatable lead in the 5-ODI series.
Australia were on top of their game on Tuesday at Hamilton and got the better of a New Zealand side that was struggling with a long injury list. Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson were excellent on the day and helped in restricting the Kiwis to a nominal total. They picked up three wickets each and left the hosts with no chance of coming back into the game. Their run chase was led by a brilliant century from Brad Haddin, who had struggled to get a big score so far despite getting off to some solid starts. The Aussies will welcome back Michael Clarke, who had missed the previous game to personal reasons. If Australia put in a similar performance at Auckland on Thursday, its difficult to see New Zealand getting the better of them.
New Zealand had a lot of selection issues with a number of their key players missing due to injury. But there is promising news ahead of Thursday’s encounter. Ross Taylor looked fine through his innings in the second ODI while James Franklin and Daryl Tuffey are hoping for a speedy recovery. A fully fit New Zealand squad can pose a serious challenge for the visiting side but they have failed to field a first choice team in the series so far. Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor continue to be the key players for New Zealand at the top of the order. Scott Styris and Gareth Hopkins have also looked convincing in the lower middle-order. Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond will be their biggest weapons in the bowling department.
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