Weekend cricket watch: New Zealand vs Australia 2003 World Cup

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This is a match which was not a very close or thrilling. Yet I remember it for a few individuals. First, one of the all time best Kiwi bowler Shane Bond bowled out one after another Aussie batsmen. He took 6 wickets for just 20 odd runs. Australia were around 100 plus for 7. Then Andy Bichel and Michael Bevan- some of the best all rounders turned around things a lot. They took Aussies past the 200 score, perhaps something Kiwis had not expected. Later, Brett Lee, McGrath and Aussie fielders proved too much for Kiwis. They folded up for just around 110 (or a bit lower) score and Australia won by a good margin- nearly 100 runs. That Australian team of 2003 was simply superb. They had terrific batsmen Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn. They also had all rounders like Andy Bichel,Andrew Symonds, Ian Harvey and Michael Bevan. Then bowlers like Brett Lee could also bat good in tough situations. Glenn McGrath was effective as usual in the bowling department. And so were Nathan Bracken and Jason Gillespie. I recall that team winning so many matches in such tough situations. I think a lot of them also played the 2007 world cup which they dominated even more than the 2003 one. Match Highlights Source