Lee floors overawed New Zealand to seal series win
Brett Lee was responsible for another disastrous performance from New Zealand as Australia stormed to an innings win
Brett Lee was responsible for another disastrous performance from New Zealand as Australia stormed to an innings win
Australia complete the whitewash and they'll be a much relieved bunch after a forgettable series in India. They took a bit of time to adjust back to home conditions and they've certainly clicked in all departments here in Adelaide. Except for Hayden and Symonds, the rest have contributed well with the bat. Lee may not have finished with his best innings figures but he still managed five wickets and he'll be delighted with that. The Australians have an extended break before the first Test at Perth against South Africa on the 17th.
And now the stat you've all been waiting for. Brett Lee is the only bowler to have taken more than 300 Test wickets without taking six or more wickets in an innings. Thanks Siddhartha Talya, for verifying that for me.
We're ready for the presentation.
Brad Haddin is the Man of the Match. "Very satisfying, we're just looking forward to the South Africa series. Clarke just decides not to talk during the partnership (laughs)."
Michael Clarke is the Man of the Series "Fantastic performance from the Australians. I'll take a 100 any day. Always great to come back and bat here at the Oval. Haddin was fantastic and he deserves the reward. He's the type of player who will win a lot of games for Australia."
Here's Vettori: "Disappointing all the way through. Australia put the game away from us a long long way yesterday. Australia won every critical moment through the Tests and we failed to do that. We have to get back to winning ways soon."
Ponting: "I enjoyed that catch (to get rid of How). I said to the guys after Brisbane there was a fair bit of room for improvement. Like Clarke said Haddin has a rosy future. We've got a great challenge ahead against South Africa. Lee kept wanting the ball and he ran in and picked nine."
Ponting gets hold of the series trophy and his team-mates join him. Don't forget New Zealand return in February for a series of five ODIs and a Twenty20. The first match is a day-nighter at the WACA on February 1.
So NZ have plenty to ponder after this heavy defeat. Sadly, John Bracewell leaves his post in disappointment and he would have hoped for much better farewell. We wish him all the best for his future. Andy Moles takes over as coach.
NZ have to get their batting in order. They were also missing their best player Jacob Oram to injury. I've said this before and will say it again - they will have to beg Scott Styris to come out of Test retirement. They've already lost a few players to the ICL and can't afford any more losses.
That's it from us. I enjoyed bringing the two Tests to you. Thanks for the mails. On behalf of my team, Raghav, Peter English and Brydon Coverdale, this is Kanishkaa Balachandran signing off. Cheers!
CS Martin b Johnson 0 (13m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
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