Australia vs New Zealand : More than a game for Trans-Tasman rivals

It Might be the first clash of the heavyweights in Group A but the match between Australia and New Zealand at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Jamtha has assumed much more importance – for cricketing and noncricketing reasons.

New Zealand had been on an 11- match losing streak before defeating Pakistan in two One- Day Internationals (ODI) at home earlier this month and began the World Cup with a morale-boosting decimation of Kenya in Chennai last week.

But then came news of the massive earthquake in Christchurch, and suddenly the Kiwi players were more concerned about the wellbeing of their loved ones than anything else. Luckily, none of the players suffered any losses and, according to manager Dave Currie, the disaster has brought them closer and given them fresh incentive to beat their Trans- Tasman rivals.

Captain Daniel Vettori echoed Currie’s sentiments.

“ Obviously it’s been an incredibly tough build- up with what’s going on, but for a lot of guys I suppose coming to training has allowed them to take their minds off things. I think we’ve trained as well as we could and we’re really looking forward to this game,” Vettori said.

Both countries’ boards have got together and announced via a press release that this match will decide who gets to keep the Chappell- Hadlee Trophy.

Australia and New Zealand have been playing bilateral ODI series every year since 2004 for this trophy and since this is the only time they are likely to face each other this year, the trophy, currently held by Australia, will go to the winner of this game. The ICC has given them the go- ahead to do so, according to an official.

The conditions for the match are expected to be vastly different to the normal batting paradise that the Jamtha stadium is known to be. A 9.30 am start, together with the cool temperatures at night and early in the morning, mean there will be swing available to the pace bowlers, which is likely to suit Australia’s attack more than New Zealand’s.

After the fielding drills during their practice session on Thursday, most of the Kiwi batsmen and even the bowlers had short stints in the nets.

They have resisted the urge play three spinners against the defending champions, most of whose batsmen have looked out of sorts against the tweakers in their two warmups and the Zimbabwe game.

For Australia, the match will present a chance to unleash the real might of their batting, which was missing from the Zimbabwe game. Skipper Ricky Ponting believes the dew will not play a part and that the pitch, as is the norm at this ground, will be an absolute belter. They spent more than an hour doing fielding drills in the afternoon before batting for a short while.

On a day that saw the highest temperature of the past few days in the city, the groundstaff were busy using the heavy roller on the pitch, which is bound to make it conducive to spin once the ball stops swinging.

In fact, while Vettori said he may or may not open with offspinner Nathan McCullum as he did against Kenya, Ponting believed that’s the way the Kiwis will look to go.