Australia Cricket / Editor / 18 February 2007 /

Australia's five-wicket defeat to New Zealand in their latest one-day encounter has seen them slip behind South Africa in the rankings.

Following their humiliating first-ever 10-wicket reverse against the Black Caps in Wellington on Friday, the Aussies made it four straight one-day defeats in a row and five from their last six outings in Auckland on Sunday.

The result means South Africa, who defeated Pakistan 3-1 in their recent series, leapfrog the world champions to top the rankings with just three weeks to go before the World Cup starts.

Australia, again without captain Ricky Ponting, managed an impressive record score of 336-4 at Eden Park with stand-in skipper Mike Hussey hitting 105 and Brad Hodge finishing unbeaten on 97.

However, Ross Taylor fired 117, while Peter Fulton was 76 not out and Craig McMillan fired 52 as the Kiwis came back to clinch the game by five wickets on 337-5 with eight balls to spare - and with it they wrapped up the series 2-0.
Hussey though refused to hit the panic button after his side's latest setback, and said: "It's not ideal but though we're disappointed the spirit is okay. We can't afford to panic and make wholesale changes.

"We have to trust our personnel, our own games and each other. I know if we keep working hard we'll be fine."

The shift in power has not, however, been reflected in Betfair's World Cup 2007 - Winner market, as Australia still head the betting at 3.25 to win cricket's showpiece tournament, which starts in March. South Africa are available at 6.

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