ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Australia v New Zealand - Player Ratings

New Zealand wouldn’t have expected to be troubled so much on their way to victory after bowling out Australia for 151. But thanks to Mitchell Starc’s stunning six-for, the Kiwis were stretched to their limits before eventually managing to get past the line with a six from Kane Williamson.

Here are the Player Ratings for the two teams.

Martin Guptill – 1/10Chasing a modest yet tricky 152 runs for victory, the opening pair of Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill got off to a flier, scoring 40 runs in 3.5 overs. With McCullum attacking every ball that came his way, it was imperative that Guptill held one side up, but he fell cheaply for just 11 runs attempting to hit one over mid-off.

Brendon McCullum is in the form of his life

Brendon McCullum – 10/10Starting off from where he had left off in the game against England, McCullum literally smashed his way to a 24-ball 50, hitting 7 fours and 3 sixes at a strike-rate of 208! As a captain, he managed his troops admirably well; he set aggressive fields and made brilliant bowling changes, which restricted Australia, who had got off to a great start, to only 151.

Kane Williamson – 9/10Coming in at number 3, Williamson looked as good as ever, holding his nerves as wickets around him kept tumbling. He steadied the innings, scoring a mature 45 off 42 balls and hit the crucial last 6 to take his team home.

Ross Taylor – 1/10Taylor continued his horrendous form in this World Cup scoring only a single run in the match. He was bowled by Mitchell Starc off a delivery that came back in.

Grant Elliot – 1/10Elliott was beaten on defence by Mitchell Starc to be dismissed for a golden duck. Time seems to be running out for the all-rounder to prove his worth in the squad.

Corey Anderson – 5/10Corey Anderson and Kane Williamson, two of the most exciting youngsters in the international circuit, put on a crucial 52-run partnership for the 5th wicket, helping the Kiwis get close to the target after Starc and Cummins had reduced them to 79/4. He made a shaky 42-ball 26, which when seen in the context of the game, proved to be a crucial knock.

Luke Ronchi – 1/10He made his intention clear by hitting the second ball he faced for a 6, but couldn’t keep away a bouncer from Starc. The wicketkeeper-batsman was dismissed for a 7-ball 6.

Trent Boult celebrates after picking one of his 5 wickets against Australia

Tim Southee – 5/10 Tim Southee, who had picked up 7 wickets in his last game against England, was the most expensive bowler for New Zealand today, giving away 65 runs in his 9 overs. Despite being nowhere close to his best, often trying to hit the deck the hard when it provided reasonable assistance for swing, he managed to pick up the crucial wickets of David Warner and Aaron Finch.

Trent Boult – 9/10Boult was by far the pick of the New Zealand bowlers; he wasn’t as exceptional as the figures suggest, but was rewarded for hitting the right length. He picked up 5 wickets giving away 27 runs in his 10 overs, and that is after conceding 24 runs and being wicketless in his first 5 overs!

Daniel Vettori – 10/10Responsible for turning the match on its head after his introduction in the first 10 overs, he slowed things up and mounted the pressure on Australian batsmen. Shane Watson was the first to fall victim. He also picked up the wicket of in-form batsman, Steven Smith, to shift the game in his team’s favour. He finished with 2 wickets for 41 in 10 overs.

Adam Milne – 5/10How often does the 3rd seamer of a team bowl his first over in the 27th over of the innings? Such was the effectiveness of Boult and Vettori that Milne bowled his first delivery with the score reading 128/9. He consistently reached higher speeds, with his fastest delivery being 151.5 kmph, and gave away only 6 runs in the 3 overs he bowled.

Aaron Finch – 1/10Aaron Finch, who had scored 135 in the previous game against England, made 14 runs off 7 balls, including a 4 and a 6, before getting his off-stump bowled over by Tim Southee.

David Warner – 5/10After the fall of Finch, Warner tried to steady the innings along with Shane Watson. He looked in good nick en route to his 32 off 42 balls, but couldn’t carry it on as he was trapped LBW by Southee in the 14th over of the innings.

Tim Southee was erratic but still struck vital breakthroughs

Shane Watson – 1/10Coming off a string of poor performances, Watson was under immense pressure to perform. He combined with Warner after Finch was dismissed early and put on a 50-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. However, he wasn’t fluent at the crease and eventually fell while trying to go for a pull, hitting the ball to the fielder at wid-wicket.

Michael Clarke – 1/10Clarke, returning after a back surgery that had threatened to end his playing career, looked edgy during his short stay at the crease especially against Vettori before falling for 12 off 18 to Boult.

Steve Smith – 1/10Smith, touted as one of the players to watch out for in the World Cup, failed for the second consecutive time without troubling the scorers much.

Glenn Maxwell – 1/10.

Maxwell came out to bat with the scoreboard reading 95/4 in 16.3 overs. He didn't last long, though, becoming Boult’s second victim, chopping a length delivery onto the stumps.

Mitchell Marsh – 1/10The Man of the Match in Australia’s first game of the World Cup, Mitchell Marsh was out for nought dragging one from Mitchell Starc onto the stumps.

Brad Haddin – 6/10The top scorer for the Aussies, Brad Haddin came out to bat with the scoreboard reading 97/6 and played a crucial knock of 43 off 41 balls - which was the main reason the Aussies were able to reach 151.

Mitchell Starc is turning out to be one hell of a bowler

Mitchell Starc – 10/10What a fast bowler he is turning out to be! The lone standout performer for Australia, he swung the ball consistently at higher speeds, was on a hat-trick on two occasions and finished with his career-best figures: 6/28. Unfortunately, his efforts went in vain.

Pat Cummins – 6/10Replacing Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins gave away 38 runs in 6 overs, picking up the wickets of Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori. His pace and extra bounce seemed to trouble batsmen and was the only bowler who provided some support to Starc.

Mitchell Johnson – 1/10Fair to say, Mitchell Johnson had a day to forget. He went for 68 in 6 overs (his worst economy in ODIs) and was guilty of releasing the pressure built up by Starc and Cummins.