'We didn't adapt to slower pitch' - Hussey

Australia's first ten-wicket loss in a one-day international left Michael Hussey searching for answers in only his second outing as captain of his country. New Zealand's win at Wellington means Australia must win both the remaining games in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series to retain their No. 1 spot in the ICC's ODI rankings.

Hussey said Friday's loss could not be taken as proof Australia had made a joke of the series by resting Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist. "Not at all, Ricky is recovering from a back complaint which he's had from halfway through the Test series, so he needs to get that right, and no one can begrudge Gilly for being with his wife when she's about to give birth,'' Hussey told AAP. "We've got Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke out as well, who are two big losses."

He said having been sent in to bat on a difficult batting pitch the Australia batsmen needed to adjust their tactics - something they failed to do. "It's a very disappointing loss," Hussey said. "We weren't up to scratch really. The ball was holding in the wicket a little bit so we couldn't play our strong shots through the field, which is probably what we're used to a little bit in Australia.

"We needed to adapt a bit quicker than what we did. The Kiwis did it pretty well early by dropping and running, which on the slower pitches is something that can be very effective."

Stephen Fleming said the win was pleasing considering the criticism that had been levelled at him and his side after their failure to reach the CB Series finals in Australia. "It probably releases the pressure tap a little bit but not enough to sit back and say 'job done'," Fleming said in the Weekend Herald. "Beating Australia twice in a row is something we desperately want to do."