Watch the highlights of Australia vs New Zealand 4th Match Benson & Hedges World Series Cup 1980/81 - Benson & Hedges World Series Cup one-day international tournament of the 4th ODI match played between New Zealand and Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne in 07th December 1980.
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| A running between Allan Border and Greg Chappelle © Cricket Australia / Fox Sports |
Pace bowling attack from Len Pascoe's four-wicket haul and Dennis Lillee's three-wicket haul before Allan Border's half-century and Greg Chappell's 48 helped to Australia tense four-wicket victory over New Zealand in a low-scoring game of the fourth match of a Benson and Hedges World Series Cup.
NEW ZEALAND scored 156 for all-out (49.5 Overs) with top scorer by John Wright 57 (119) and Bruce Edgar 33 (67)
Australia best bowler by Len Pascoe 4/37 (9.5) and Dennis Lillee 3/19 (10)
AUSTRALIA chased 159/6 (47.2 Overs) with top scorer by Allan Border 55 (111) and Greg Chappell 48 (70)
New Zealand best bowler by Stephen Boock 2/30 (10) and Richard Hadlee 2/34 (10)
This match reported by Brian Mossop (Third Party Reference from SMH)
The wicket was largely the story of the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup match at the MCG - which Australia bounced back from a loss to India to score 159-6 in reply to New Zealand's total of 156.
The four-wicket win was Australia's second in three cup matches with the Kiwis and put Australia on top of the ladder with two wins from four matches. New Zealand have won one out of three, and India have won their only game.
And, like the match with India on Saturday in which the Australians were bundled out for 142 chasing 208-9 the wicket played a major hand in the result.
"The wicket was much the same as yesterday," Chappell said. "But while the bounce was low, there was less variation. "I am not looking forward to a five-day Test here. It will be a hard grind for batsmen, for bowlers and for spectators."
Melbourne crowds never cease to amaze — good wicket or bad. A crowd of 17,570 watched Saturday's one-day international and 23,601 turned up to cheer the Australians home.
As Chappell said: "They are the best sporting crowd in the world. They deserve better."
Chappell's dismay at the state of the wicket was tempered to some measure by the fact that Dennis Lillee played and took 3-19 off his 10 overs and that Allan Border opened, made 55 and won the man-of-the-match award.
Even so, Chappell was not entirely happy. He lost his own wicket at 48, just nine runs after Border, and said later: "We have got to avoid putting pressure on the other players."
Chappell and Border put on 92 runs for the second wicket to put Australia on the path to victory and, although five wickets crashed for 38 runs, the New Zealanders were never really a chance.
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