Dancing down the wicket

Wisden Cricinfo staff

November 3, 2003

Australia held their nerve to win a humdinger against New Zealand in the TVS Cup. A crucial factor in this was the 70 runs Michael Clarke made. He scored quickly and did not allow the bowlers to dominate. He was especially good against Daniel Vettori, usually New Zealand's best bowler in the subcontinent. A key factor was his footwork. To every ball, he moved his feet early and well. He looked to come onto the front foot as much as possible and was even happy to dance down the wicket and drive. No wonder then, that he took 20 runs off Vettori coming down the wicket.

Another big performer on the day was Jacob Oram (81). He took New Zealand out of the woods after an early collapse, but could not ensure a win. When Oram came in to bat at number seven, New Zealand were in trouble at 86 for 5. They needed to rebuild, and Oram did just that. To begin with he concentrated on playing straight back down the ground, and hit 19 runs in the `v' between long-on and long-off. After he got set, he targeted midwicket, and scored 25 runs in the zone - more than anywhere else. Ultimately, though, it was still not enough.

© Cricinfo

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Stories

Bulletin - Australia squeak through

Making meter coffee

Verdict – One for the album

From selector to curator

Matches

Australia v New Zealand at Pune

Players/Umpires

Michael Clarke

Jacob Oram

Series/Tournaments

TVS Cup (India)

Teams

Australia

New Zealand