The Australians continued their wonderful summer with an emphatic series win over the black caps thus re affirming their position as the number 1 ODI team in the world.

It was Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris who were Australia’s heroes with the ball at the end of the second ODI. Australia survived a late scare from the new Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori after his he displayed a wonderful array of shots all round the wicket en route his innings of 70 of just 49 balls.

The Chappel-Hadlee series between the Trans-Tasman rivals has invariably produced thrilling cricket. And if the opening ODI at Napier was anything to go by, there is another humdinger of a series in store. The game on Wednesday went down to the wire, with a gritty lower-order effort by all-rounder Scott Styris making a difference in a rather tense atmosphere.