Something wrong in Aussie camp

The sight of Twose triumphantly raising his arms above his head after he8217;d hoisted the winning boundary told a lot about the satisfaction New Zealander8217;s feeling at beating Australia. If you want to know how seriously these contests are taken, this joke currently doing the rounds in Australia should explain:

An Australian, a New Zealand and a West Indian baby were all born in the same hospital only minutes apart, but due to a mix up, the husbands were called in to identify their child. After a quick inspection, the New Zealander spoke first. 8220;That8217;s mine,8221; he said, pointingto one of the babies.

Somewhat taken aback, the nurse said, 8220;But sir, that baby looks West Indian?8221;

8220;I know,8221; responded the Kiwi, 8220;but one of the other two is an Australian and I8217;m not taking any chances.8221;

NO wonder, there was jubilation in the camp when Mark Waugh was dismissed, as Australia often struggle to post a good score when he makes an early departure. Just to make sure they didn8217;t get away to a fast start on this occasion, Geoff Allott got rid of Adam Gilchrist shortly after he disposed of the threat of Waugh.

Allott is a much-improved left-arm fast bowler, having added a late inswinger and consistency in line and length to his natural attributes. Allott was left in the wake of Shayne O8217;Connor a couple of seasons ago in Australia, but he was always going to be the better proposition at international level if he got his act together, because of his added pace.The early setbacks provided an opportunity for Ricky Ponting and Darren Lehmann. The pair played well, relishing the opportunityto build an innings and then accelerate quickly. Ponting is still a bit over-anxious about getting on to the front foot, which is a little difficult to understand seeing he8217;s such a strong back foot player. However, once he settled down, he batted confidently, playing some good pull shots and couple of sweet on-drives.

Lehmann is like a hyperactive school kid when he bats 8212; he hates to be inactive for any longer than a couple of balls. He8217;s a master at chipping the ball over the head of the infielders and collecting twos, then he occasionally bludgeons the ball to the boundary with brute force. This pair built the score to the point where two hundred and fifty was a distinct possibility so the New Zealander8217;s did well to restrict Australia. For that, they can thank the aggression of Allott and the accuracy of Gavin Larsen.Following the example of Allott, the Australians attacked early and got a fortunate break when the normally reliable umpire David Shepherd gave Matthew Horne out caught behind when theball clipped the back leg.

Then when Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne picked up an wicket early in their spell, it appeared Australia had the game under control. With New Zealand8217;s two most dangerous players, Stephen Fleming and Craig McMillan gone, McGrath peppered a tentative Roger Twose with short deliveries only to watch in dismay as he had him caught at fine-leg off a no-ball.

New Zealand capitalised on this good break as Twose and Chris Cairns started to find the boundary at regular intervals, ensuring that the required run rate didn8217;t get out of hand.

At the appropriate time Cairns launched an assault and one huge six off Warne landed in the River Taff. As Warne had only that morning become a father for the second time, this could8217;ve been perceived as that old Australian custom of 8220;wetting the babies head8221;, but I8217;m not sure the leg-spinner would8217;ve appreciated the joke.

In fact, there was little being said in a serious Australian camp where something is slightly astray at the moment. If SteveWaugh doesn8217;t find the solution to the problem before the crucial game against Pakistan, Australia8217;s campaign is in danger of unravelling.