Cricket
NZ fall to Aussie Mitch-craft
2010-03-31 07:57
Hamilton - Mitchell Johnson took six wickets to clean up New Zealand for 302 and hand Australia a 176-run victory and series sweep before lunch on the fifth day of the second and final Test in Hamilton on Wednesday.
Johnson added another three scalps to his overnight tally of three, to finish with 6/73, achieving his second Test 10-wicket match haul after the 4/59 of the first innings.
Starting the day on 185/5, New Zealand relied heavily on Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum if they were to survive the day, and initially the pair combined for 87, but both fell after they reached their respective half-centuries to effectively seal the hosts' fate.
Tim Southee had some fun late in the innings with a 25-ball 45, but it was never going to add up to more than a token resistance, and he was the last man out hitting out to Michael Clarke at deep point off Nathan Hauritz.
The performance ensured Australia finished an unbeaten summer with seven wins in eight Tests.
Teams: New Zealand: TG McIntosh, BJ Watling, MS Sinclair, LRPL Taylor, MJ Guptill, DL Vettori (captain), BB McCullum (wk), JS Patel, TG Southee, BJ Arnel, CS Martin
Australia: SR Watson, SM Katich, RT Ponting (captain), MEK Hussey, MJ Clarke, MJ North, BJ Haddin (wk), MG Johnson, NM Hauritz, RJ Harris, DE Bollinger