Cricket: Australia carry off one-day series: Dramatic last-ball victory

AUSTRALIA, beaten in the previous two matches, won the last one-day game against New Zealand in Auckland yesterday and with it the five- match series when Gavin Larsen failed to hit the six needed off the last ball to give the home side victory.

It was the second close finish of the weekend, New Zealand having squared the series at 2-2 on Saturday with a three-wicket victory secured with two balls to spare.

The Australians, put in on a slightly damp but drying wicket at Eden Park, began well despite losing Mark Taylor with seven on the board. At the half-way point they had reached 109 for 2 and seemed set for a score of 250, but once Mark Waugh, who scored 108 in the fourth match of the series, was out for another top score of 83, their innings crumbed.

Rod Latham, New Zealand's opening batsman, achieved the remarkable figures of 5 for 32 off 10 overs with his occasional spin, the best performance by a New Zealand bowler against Australia in one-day internationals.

New Zealand made a bold start to their reply, Latham and Mark Greatbatch reaching 50 in the 13th over before the middle order collapsed. Greatbatch dug in to make 68, but with 10 overs left, New Zealand looked out of the match, needing 75.

Jeff Wilson hit 21 in a hurry and Larsen and Chris Pringle followed through to arrive at the last over, bowled by Merv Hughes, with 14 runs needed. Larsen's attempt to hit the last ball for a winning six brought only two.

AUSTRALIA

M E Waugh c Greatbatch b Latham. . . . . . . . . . . 83

M A Taylor c and b Morrison. . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

D M Jones run out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

D C Boon c Patel b Latham. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

S R Waugh b Latham. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

* A R Border c Patel b Latham. . . . . . . . . . . . .1

] I A Healy c Crowe b Pringle. . . . . . . . . . . . 17

A I C Dodemaide c Crowe b Latham. . . . . . . . . . . 0

M G Hughes not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

P R Reiffel not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Extras (1b 5lb 5w 1nb). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Total: (for 8, 50 overs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Fall: 1-7 2-71 3-145 4-178 5-183 6-213 7-213 8-215.

Bowling: Morrison 8-0-41-1 (4w 1nb); Wilson 7-0-36-0 (1w); Pringle 9-0-52-1; Larsen 10-1-32-0; Patel 6-0-33-0; Latham 10-1-32-5.

NEW ZEALAND

R T Latham c M Waugh b Hughes. . . . . . . . . . . . 22

M J Greatbatch c Border b S Waugh. . . . . . . . . . 68

A H Jones st Healy b May. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

* M D Crowe lbw b May. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

K R Rutherford run out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

] T E Blain run out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

J W Wilson c Border b Dodemaide. . . . . . . . . . . 21

D N Patel c M Waugh b S Waugh. . . . . . . . . . . . .8

G R Larsen not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

C Pringle not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Extras (19lb 8w 1nb). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Total: (for 8, 50 overs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Fall: 1-50 2-67 3-97 4-114 5-136 6-139 7-166 8-175.

Did not bat: D K Morrison.

Bowling: Hughes 10-0-46-1 (3w); Dodemaide 10-1-39-1 (3w); Reiffel 10-0-49-0 (1w 1nb); May 10-0-40-2; S Waugh 8-1-27-2 (1w); M Waugh 2-0-9-0.

AUSTRALIAN WON BY THREE RUNS.

Australia win series 3-2.

Pakistan kept their one-day series against the West Indies alive on Saturday when Inzamam-ul-Haq hit an unbeaten 90 to help them to a seven- wicket victory in a high-scoring match. West Indies lead the five-match series 2-1.

WEST INDIES

D L Haynes c Basit b Aamir Nazir. . . . . . . . . . .68

B C Lara c Latif b Aamir Nazir. . . . . . . . . . . . 5

P V Simmons not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

* R B Richardson c Inzamam b Sohail. . . . . . . . . 46

C L Hooper c Wasim b Waqar. . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

A L Logie not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Extras (lb15 w4 nb6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Total (for 4, 45 overs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259

Fall: 1-33 2-115 3-182 4-249.

Did not bat: J C Adams, J R Murray, C E L Ambrose, I R Bishop, C A Walsh.

Bowling: Akram 10-0-62-0 (1nb); Waqar Younis 10-3-50- 1 (4w), Aamir Nazir 8-0-52-2 (nb5), Ata-ur-Rehman 10-0- 31-0; Nadeem Khan 6-0-39-0; Aamir Sohail 1-0-10-1.

PAKISTAN

Aamir Sohail c Ambrose b Bishop. . . . . . . . . . . 42

Ramiz Raja run out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Inzamam ul-Haq not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

Basit Ali run out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Asif Mujtaba not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Extras (lb11 w10 nb3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Total (for 3, 43.1 overs). . . . . . . . . . . . . .261

Fall: 1-71 2-100 3-130.

Did not bat: * Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif, Waqar Younis, Nadim Khan, Ata-ur-Rehman, Aamir Nazir.

Bowling: Ambrose 9-1-49-0 (4w); Walsh 10-0-63-0 (2nb); Bishop 10-0-49-1 (1w); Simmons 7-0-44-0 (1w, 1nb); Hooper 7.1-0-45-0 (4w).

Umpires: S U Bucknor and C E Cumberbatch.

PAKISTAN WON BY SEVEN WICKETS

West Indies lead five-match series 2-1.