Scoreline: NZ 244. Ross Taylor 76 (71). Brad Haddin almost gets into controversy again. Australia make it home in 48.2 overs. Series tied at 2-2. Mike Hussey 75 (71), David Hussey 79 (96)

NZ took a conservative approach at the top. It didn’t help that Guptill dominated most of the strike rather than McCullum, but run-scoring was hard anyway with a good bowling effort by the Aussies. Just when the Kiwis had their foundation and stuff set, a flurry of wickets pulled them back again. Only the batting powerplay and a fantastic knock by Ross Taylor (yet again) took New Zealand close to 250, with help from the lower order – look out for a Kyle Mills closed-eyes six. Brad Haddin took the ball in front of the stumps yet again – luckily for him, this time the stumps stayed intact and he got away with just a sheepish look and nothing more. Serious problems for him standing up to the stumps.

The Aussie chase was effective and sensible, considering they were staring at yet another series loss with this game. The Hussey brothers took them home, but NZ were not without a couple of chances that might well have swung the game their way, had they taken them. The Mike Hussey knock was probably the deciding one considering the timing of his entry to the crease – 101/3.

Though his decisions hardly had a bearing on the game, Steve Davis had a poor day as Umpire with one pathetic LBW, in particular. An important win for Australia that could well swing their current run favourably.

NZ Batting

Aus Chase

http://aus-nz-oox.blogspot.com/ (OOX) – CBN
http://aus-nz-spvod.blogspot.com/ (SPVOD) – S2
http://aus-nz-tvu.blogspot.com/ (TVU) – CBN
http://aus-nz-flash.blogspot.com/ (UStream)
http://nz-aus-flash.blogspot.com/ (Justin)