Cricket World Cup: New Zealand beat Australia by one wicket

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Kane Williamson and Trent BoultImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Kane Williamson, who came to the crease at 40-1, saw eight wickets fall

World Cup Pool A, Auckland

Australia 151 (32.2 overs): Haddin 43, Boult 5-27

New Zealand 152-9 (23.1 overs): McCullum 50, Williamson 45*, Starc 6-28

New Zealand won by one wicket

New Zealand survived a late collapse to beat Australia by one wicket and reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

Chasing a meagre 152 to win, the Kiwis slipped from 131-4 to 146-9 as Mitchell Starc claimed 6-28.

However, Kane Williamson (45no) hit Pat Cummins for six to seal victory with 26.5 overs to spare in a wonderfully tense climax at Eden Park in Auckland.

Earlier, Australia lost eight wickets for 26 runs as they were bowled out for 151, with Trent Boult claiming 5-27.

"I was always going to try and hit a boundary at the end as I didn't want to leave it too long," Williamson told Test Match Special.

New Zealand, who have won all four of their group matches, became the first side to book their place in the last eight.

Vic Marks, ex-England spinner on Test Match Special

"What it does mean is that if the Kiwis meet the Aussies in the semi-finals, it will be at home. It's a very strange scorecard - look at those bowling figures with Mitchell Johnson 6-1-68-0, and Mitchell Starc 9-0-28-6. But the Aussies have got a lot out of that game, despite the batting collapse."

Tournament favourites Australia, meanwhile, have three points from their first three games, heading into Wednesday's clash with Afghanistan in Perth.

Australia captain Michael Clarke, playing his first competitive international since December following hamstring surgery, said: "Our batting was horrendous, to put it mildly, but Mitchell Starc was a genius."

This was only the sixth one-wicket win in World Cup history, although such a slender margin of victory appeared unlikely in the extreme as Brendon McCullum flayed a 21-ball fifty to lead the Kiwi pursuit.

Even after he fell in the eighth over to spark a collapse of three wickets in five balls - Ross Taylor and Grant Elliott were bowled by Starc either side of the interval - few doubted the outcome.

Williamson and Corey Anderson took New Zealand to within 21 runs of victory before Glenn Maxwell induced an ugly swipe from the left-hander that found only mid-on.

Starc, combining fast, full deliveries with well-directed bouncers, had an evasive Luke Ronchi caught behind off his glove, then Cummins accounted for a needlessly reckless Daniel Vettori.

New Zealand nerves were evident as Starc cleaned up Adam Milne and Tim Southee with successive deliveries, but Boult kept out the last two balls of the over and Williamson drove the first ball of the next over long-on to cap a remarkable game.

How's stat?!

Left-armers shared 14 of the 19 wickets to fall at Eden Park. Only once before have left-armers taken more: 16 in India's two-wicket win over Australia, external in Mumbai in 2007.

"My heart was racing at a million miles an hour when I went out there to bat. I've never been so nervous in my career," Boult told Test Match Special.

Even Starc's career-best return could not mask an inept Australia batting display that featured a precipitous collapse from 80-1 to 106-9.

While fellow left-arm Boult was the chief beneficiary en route to his best ODI figures, Vettori's impact was crucial.

Introduced only six overs into an innings which began with a barrage of boundaries, the veteran left-arm spinner accounted for Shane Watson and Steve Smith either side of Tim Southee's removal of David Warner for 34.

Vettori finished with 2-41, while Boult claimed five wickets for one run in 17 balls in front of a boisterous home crowd en route to his best ODI figures.

Even Brad Haddin's pugnacious 43 in a last-wicket stand of 45 with Cummins - an Australia World Cup record - could not prevent Australia posting their lowest World Cup total batting first.

Listen to highlights from Test Match Special's and 5 live Sport's 2015 World Cup coverage.

Pool A

Team

Played

Won

Lost

N/R

R/R

Points

Q

New Zealand

4

4

0

0

+3.59

8

2

Sri Lanka

3

2

1

0

+0.05

4

3

Bangladesh

3

1

1

1

+0.13

3

4

Australia

3

1

1

1

-0.30

3

5

Afghanistan

3

1

2

0

-0.76

2

6

England

3

1

2

0

-1.42

2

7

Scotland

3

0

3

0

-1.73

0

Image source, AP
Image caption,

Trent Boult bettered his previous ODI best of 4-44

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Michael Clarke made 12 in his first competitive international since December

Image source, AP
Image caption,

Brendon McCullum fell for 50 shortly after being hit on the elbow by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Mitchell Starc struck three times in five balls to give Australia late hope

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