Watch the highlights of Australia vs New Zealand 12th Match Benson & Hedges World Series Cup 1980/81 - Benson & Hedges World Series Cup one-day international tournament of the 12th ODI match played between New Zealand and Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney in 13th January 1981.
Richard Hadlee's brilliant fielding to Shaun Graf run out off the last-ball of the match as New Zealand pulled off a thrilling 1-run victory over Australia, despite a fighting Knocks from Doug Walters - Rod Marsh in a high-voltage game of the 12th match of a Benson and Hedges World Series Cup.
NEW ZEALAND scored 220/8 (50 Overs) with top scorer by John Wright 78 (135) and Ian Smith * 23 (19)
Australia best bowler by Len Pascoe 3/37 (10) and Shaun Graf 2/40 (10)
AUSTRALIA scored 219/7 (50 Overs) with top scorer by Doug Walters * 50 (72) and Rod Marsh 49 (48)
New Zealand best bowler by Ewen Chatfield 1/26 (10) and Jeremy Coney 1/41 (10)
This match reported by Brian Mossop (Third Party Reference from SMH)
Swashbuckling batting by Rod Marsh and Doug Walters narrowly failed to get Australia up in a thrilling Benson and Hedges World Series Cup match with New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
New Zealand, after scoring a challenging 220-8, won by one run as a last-ball run out left Australia at 219-6. The result all but assured the Ness Zealanders of a place in the $50,000 Cup finals. Australia have 10 points. New Zealand eight and India six after eight matches each in the preliminary series.
This match was a cliffhanger, with New Zealand and Australia both in with a chance right until the last ball. But Shaun Graf was well run out from a throw from Richard Hadlee from mid-on, going for a second run after a Doug Walters straight drive. Hadlee fumbled the hall in diving save, but threw to the bowler's end to have Mark Snedden break the stumps with Graf a yard out of his ground and with his bat in the air.
That gave New Zealand victory, and the chance was lost of an historic one-day international tie which would have given each of the teams one point.
Although Walters hammered an unbeaten 50 and New Zealand's John Vs right won the man-of-the• match award. the star of the evening for a crowd of 20,855 was Marsh.
The chubby left-hander came in with Australia in trouble at 123-5 in the 32nd over. He flayed the New Zealand howling to lift his team to within sight of a win.
And there was no more startled man than Marsh when, attempting a lofted drive off Lance Cairns, his bat broke leaving him with the handle and sending the broken blade sailing past Cairns's head.
Amusing. as it was. the incident might have cost Australia the game, Had the bat not broken, the shot would almost certainly have been a four. As it was, Marsh got just one run, a new bat, and was out moments later.
His 49 runs had taken only 65 minutes, as had his 78-run partnership with Walters. but he was a victim of Richard Hadlee, caught behind by Ian Smith while trying to crash a ball out of the ground.
When Marsh departed in the 47th over, Australia needed another 20 runs — reduced to eight when Snedden began the last six-ball over.
The tension was high as Walters straight drove the last ball with three runs still needed, but the match was New Zealand's as Hadlee ran Graf out on the second run out the one that would have tied the match.
The New Zealanders, keen to salvage something from the wreckage of the summer and boosted by their win against India in Melbourne on Saturday. made few mistakes after winning the toss.
They lost Bruce Edgar in the second over but, guided by Wright, put pressure on the Australian bowlers for one of the few times this season. As Cireg Chappell, the Australian captain. said later: 'It's as well as they have played since the first one-day match of the season"
Wright. the left-handed opener, was struck twice on the left index linger, first by Dennis Lillee and then by Len Pascoe. during his fine innings of 78 and later had a precautionary x-ray.
But he showed his mettle by playing some confident shots that included nine boundaries during a 176-minute knock. He was dropped at 20, a difficult caught and bowled chance to Trevor Chappell, but played a valuable part in maintaining a steady run rate which the later batsmen, Smith, in particular, were able to boost.
After his comments on the behaviour of Australian crowds, Hadlee could hardly have expected anything but jeers from the the Hill crowd when he came in to bat. But there were cheers as well, and Hadlee acknowledged both with a raised bat.
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