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New Zealand won by 6 wickets  
44.3 Streak to Harris, no run, full outside off stump, firmly driven
straight to cover
44.4 Streak to Harris, no run, good length ball angling on off stump,
nudged away into the covers again, the crowd start to pick up,
cheering each dot ball now
down to 30 off 32 needed now
44.5 Streak to Harris, no run, Harris jumps down the track to a
shortish, straight ball, firmly pushed it up towards mid on,
looking for a quick run but it's not on, Astle has to get back

smartly, does so easily in the end as the ball is flung wide at

the bowler's end, well backed u
44.6 Streak to Harris, no run, good length ball on off stump, jumps
forward again, taken on the front pad trying to nudge it into the

covers, hopeful appeal for lbw by Streak to end his spell


End of over 45 (5 runs) New Zealand 223/4 (RR: 4.96 RRR: 30/5 = 6.00)

HH Streak 10-0-59-0 (1w) - Loch Logan End
NJ Astle 89* (114b 10x4) CZ Harris 0* (4b)

back to run a ball required, New Zealand seem desperate to take
this one to the last over!

Hondo returns, replacing Ervine at the Willows End
45.1 Hondo to Astle, two runs, shortish ball angling into the body,
clipped away just wide of midwicket, Harris hurries back for the
second as long on is around in the deep to field, 28 off 29 to
win, Astle into the 90s
45.2 Hondo to Astle, one run, fullish ball swinging in, goes for a big
shot, playing across it a little, drags it away along the ground
to the midwicket sweeper, 27 off 28 to win
45.3 Hondo to Harris, FOUR, poor ball from Hondo releases any pressure
building yet again, low full toss outside off stump, driven
sweetly wide of mid off and leaves the fielders for dead, Harris
off the mark in style, down to 23 off 27 to win
45.4 Hondo to Harris, one run, oooh! shortish ball just outside off
stump, taps it down just forward of point, a very tight quick
single taken, the throw to the keeper isn't so great, Taibu having
to backflick it on to the stumps as Astle scrambles through, TV
umpire referred to but
is found to be just safe, was a rather poor throw
45.5 Hondo to Astle, one run, shortish ball outside off stump, pounded
away straight to the deep point fielder, 21 off 25 needed
45.6 Hondo to Harris, FOUR, shot! juicy fullish ball and Harris lofts
through the line, powerfully smacking it hard and high over wide
long on, just pitches inside the boundary, the midwicket sweeper
can't get around to that one in time


End of over 46 (13 runs) New Zealand 236/4 (RR: 5.13 RRR: 17/4 = 4.25)

Douglas T Hondo 8-0-45-1 (1w) - Willows End
NJ Astle 93* (117b 10x4) CZ Harris 9* (7b 2x4)

a big over for New Zealand, suddenly it's a doddle, just 17 off 24
needed now
46.1 Ervine to Astle, no run, good ball, shortish ball outside off
stump, keeps a little low through to the keeper, Astle cuts and
misses, playing all over the top of it, well taken by Taibu
standing up to the stumps
46.2 Ervine to Astle, one run, very full and angling right in to Astle,
drives strongly from the toes up towards straight mid on, running
with the shot, 16 off 22 needed
46.3 Ervine to Harris, one run, good yorker length ball on the toes,
Harris stumbles all over himself to keep it out, squeezing it up
towards mid on, running with the shot again, 15 off 21 required
46.4 Ervine to Astle, two runs, shortish lifting ball outside off stump,
back cuts well down through backward point, third man around in
the deep to field, 13 off 20 needed
46.5 Ervine to Astle, two runs, very full ball swinging in to the legs,
clips it away just wide of mid on, sliding stop attempted but
poorly executed by Grant Flower, sneaks through to concede an
extra run, 11 off 19 needed
46.6 Ervine to Astle, FOUR, and there it is, Astle notches a second
World Cup 100, and he's absolutely stoked, steps away to free the
arms, full ball outside off stump and launches it hard and high
over extra cover, just pitches inside the rope, 100 off 122 balls,
11x4


End of over 47 (10 runs) New Zealand 246/4 (RR: 5.23 RRR: 7/3 = 2.33)

SM Ervine 6-0-44-1 (1w) - Loch Logan End
CZ Harris 10* (8b 2x4) NJ Astle 102* (122b 11x4)

it's been a long, long time between drinks for Astle at World Cups,
after making his debut in the 1996 tournament with a first-up ton,
then followed it up with a long sequence of wretched failures,
it's a real monkey off his back now, a fine time to do i
just 7 required off 3 overs now, it's a cakewalk, officially!
47.1 Hondo to Harris, no run, tight, shortish, straight ball, tucked up
in defence, played to midwicket, with most of the field now inside
the circle
47.2 Hondo to Harris, wide: two runs, slower, short ball down the leg
side, Harris tries to glance it fine but misses, so does Taibu,
failing to glove cleanly, deflected down towards fine leg, three
free runs

47.2 Hondo to Harris, FOUR, and there it is, the game ends with an
emphatic blow from Harris, short, straight ball outside off stump,
heaves it almightily high over midwicket, pitches a couple of
metres inside the rope, almost comes to a stop but trickles into
the rope, teasing
the chasing fielder, that is the winning runs, New Zealand winners
by 6 wickets with 16 balls to spare, a clinical chase, led by
Astle's foundation knock of 102* at his new-found position of No
3, and boy has it proven successful this tournament
New Zealand did make their task a heck of a lot more difficult than
it should've been, after having Zimbabwe on the ropes at 106/6
after 24 overs, they could've realistically looked to knock them

over for around 150, but in the end Zimbabwe fought

brilliantly at the death to send the run rate steepling and the
total to 100 more than expected, giving the Kiwis a real challenge
they fought hard in the field throughout, but just lacked that bit
of class, or a match-turner in their side to pull off something
spectacular, and it allowed the New Zealanders to hold their nerve
and bat patiently throughout their chase
Streak was expensive early, and was only marginally better at the

end, he was the one who really needed to lead from the front (even
though he had done more than his fair share with his fantastic 72
not out earlier), and Hondo proved costly too, despite
getting the initial breakthrough, Blignaut and Flower did their
best to slow things down in the middle, but Cairns and Astle
always looked on top of things, pacing things expertly
Fleming got the innings off to a flier in classy style, 10 great
boundaries in his knock of 46, but once he and Styris went things
were still poised fairly evenly
the Astle/Cairns stand took the game away from Zimbabwe, Cairns
having a very consistent World Cup with the bat, scoring 54 after
knocks of 32, 37, 33 not out and 31
Astle's raising of his second World Cup ton brought an emotional
response from the batsman, you could see just what it meant to
him, in what is likely to be his last World Cup, on his last legs
as it were, with a deteriorating knee problem, amongstothers
it's his 13th One-Day International century too, easily the most by
a New Zealander, heading off Fleming, Cairns and Martin Crowe who
have four apiece, and he leaps back ahead of Herschelle Gibbs and
Ricky Ponting on the overall list, joining Gary
Kirsten on 13 centuries in 8th equal, a fine effort from a
provincial dibbly dobbly bowler and No 10 batsman converted into
an international opener, and now (so far) successful No 3
this result leaves Zimbabwe's hopes of reaching the semi-finals
hanging by a loose thread, now needing to beat both Sri Lanka and
Kenya to have any mathematical chance of qualifying

New Zealand now face Australia in a big clash at Port Elizabeth on
Tuesday, the two teams having just one lost on the field between
them in the tournament so far, while Zimbabwe meet Kenya in a
must-win match at this same venue on Wednesday
that concludes CricInfo's coverage of this 3rd Super Six match of
the ICC World Cup 2003, please join us again on Monday at 10am
local time (0800 GMT) for the 4th game, between India and Sri
Lanka, another big clash, at Johannesburg
until then it's goodbye from Bloemfontein, any comments about
today's coverage can be sent to comms@cricinfo.com - all feedback
is greatly appreciated