Australia are there for the taking
In the New Zealand Herald Nathan Astle reckons that Friday's game against Australia in Nagpur could possibly be New Zealand's best chance to beat them on the World Cup stage
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
In the New Zealand Herald Nathan Astle reckons that Friday's game against Australia in Nagpur could possibly be New Zealand's best chance to beat them on the World Cup stage. Despite their poor run of form in recent times New Zealand's line-up is more settled than Australia's which is a rarity.
The Aussies are still in a rebuilding phase and are there for the taking. It's not the Australian team of a few years ago when they were the best team in the world by a long way. They've come back to the pack now. Sure they still have some world class players, and have only lost to New Zealand twice at the World Cup, but the Black Caps should have all the confidence in the world to beat them.
Australia and New Zealand will also be fighting for the Chappell-Hadlee trophy in Friday's game. In the same newspaper, David Leggat revisits some memorable clashes between the trans-Tasman foes.
And once again in the New Zealand Herald, Adam Parore writes that while Ricky Ponting is trying to talk Australia up, but no one is fooled, because Australia's defeat against India before the tournament shows where they are really at and Ponting sounds a bit too desperate in trying to boost his team's status.
Akhila Ranganna is assistant editor (Audio) at ESPNcricinfo