Australia crush NZ
Australia crushed New Zealand by 71 runs in the first one-day international at an empty Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
After New Zealand earlier kept the home side to 258 for seven, the Australian bowling attack dominated the Kiwi batsmen to dismiss the visitors for 187 in the 41st over.
Cricket Australia barred spectators from the match in response to the coronavirus pandemic, leading to the strange sight of players acknowledging milestones to empty grandstands.
Australian skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and chose to bat, with the home side at one stage looking at a score in excess of 300 following a superb opening partnership from Finch and David Warner.
But once Warner (67) and Finch (60) were dismissed, the Australian innings lost momentum and New Zealand clawed their way back into the game, despite a late flourish from Marnus Labuschagne, who made 56 from just 52 deliveries.
New Zealand must have given themselves a good chance of taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, but some superb Australian bowling in the first 10 overs meant the visitors were always behind in the run chase.
None of the New Zealand batsmen was able to dominate -- Martin Guptill top scored with 40 -- and wickets fell at regular intervals as Australia took control.
The victory will come as a welcome boost to the Australians, who had lost their last five ODIs in series losses to South Africa and India.
SCORES IN BRIEF
Australia: 258 for 7 in 50 overs (Warner 67, Finch 60, Labuschagne 56, Marsh 27; Ferguson 2-60, Santner 2-34, Sodhi 3-51)
New Zealand: 187 all out in 41 overs (Guptill 40, Latham 38, De Grandhomme 25; Hazlewood 2-37, Cummins 2-25, Marsh 3-29, Zampa 2-50)
Result: Australia won by 71 runs.
Player-of-the-match: Mitchell Marsh.
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