JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) - Any faint hopes that a side still existed in the World Cup to extend Australia were blown away yesterday by a typhoon called Brett Lee.
Lee's burning pace scythed through the New Zealand lower order and a Super Six match that seemed beyond Australia when they were 84 for seven turned into an easy 96-run victory.
Of equal significance was an innings of 64 by Andy Bichel to rescue the defending champions.
Compared to the glamorous Lee, Bichel is a honest toiler.
But he has the ability to raise his game when it matters and, for the second time in the tournament, he combined with Michael Bevan to rescue Australia.
Australia were only once extended in the first round, collapsing to 135 for eight against England before Bevan and Bichel saw them to victory with two balls to spare through an unbroken ninth-wicket partnership of 73.
Yesterday, New Zealand's Shane Bond bowled with express pace to take six for 23.
It was the best analysis recorded in an one-day international by a New Zealander and in normal circumstances would have seen his side to victory.
Perfect Record
Australia are not normal. Bevan (56) and Bichel added 97 for the eighth wicket and, after Glenn McGrath had sliced off the top of the New Zealand innings, Lee took five for 11 in 4.1 overs in his second spell as New Zealand were dismissed for a World Cup low of 112.
``Glenn got the usual break with the new ball then Brett just came back and finished them off with yorker bowling,'' said Australia captain Ricky Ponting.
The Australians, without Shane Warne who tested positive for a banned drug before the tournament had even begun, opened with an 82-run win over Pakistan after recovering from 86 for four.
They then bowled India out for a World Cup low of 125 en route to a nine-wicket victory.
The Dutch went down by 75 runs, Zimbabwe by seven wickets, Namibia by a World Cup record 256 runs then finally England.
In the second phase, Sri Lanka were brushed aside by 183 runs and now Australia, who have already won a world record 14 consecutive One-day Internationals, have just Kenya left before the semi-finals.
Ponting agreed that it seemed the Australians seemed to be able to win from any position.
``We back ourselves to get out of trouble in any situation,'' he said. ``But we don't want to get ourselves in too many of those situations again.''
Even the best can improve.
Australia salvage 'lost cause' against Kiwis
By Tony Cozier
In Port Elizabeth
IF it is a proven truism that no team in any sport is unbeatable, Australia's cricketers clearly do not believe it applies to them.
For the second time in nine days, and on the same St.George's Park ground where they thwarted and then defeated England in the preliminary round, they salvaged a situation in their Super Six match that would have overwhelmed most others and turned it into conclusive victory over closest neighbours and bitterest rivals, New Zealand, by 96 runs.
Once more, Michael Bevan, who has dealt with more crises than Kofi Annan, and Andy Bichel, a wholehearted but underrated cricketer, were responsible for the initial recovery.
They put on 73 unbroken to scrape home over England by two wickets. Yesterday they came together at 84 for seven to add 97 from 21.2 overs and ensure a competitive total of 208 for nine.
Their example duly fired the pride and passion of teammates defending not only the Cup they won in 1999 but a record they would extend to 17 successive one-day international victories, eight in this tournament.
The New Zealanders, like most others before them, were powerless to withstand the pressure and were routed for 112, leaving them with one remaining match, against India, they must win to qualify for the semi-finals.
Australia, whose last Super Six engagement is against Kenya, were long since there.
Yesterday's contest was memorable even more for the very fast, precise, late-swing bowling of two of the modern game's most exciting exponents, Shane Bond and Brett Lee, than for the Australian resilience.
Bond, the 27-year-old who first appeared for New Zealand only 15 months ago, dismantled the Australian top-order with six of the first seven wickets for 23 off 10 overs, divided into spells of six and four.
Lee, the blond, 26-year- old Australian, went wicketless, and for 31 runs, from his opening five overs but returned to obliterate the last five New Zealand wickets for three runs from 15 balls.
Both were seriously quick despite the slow pitch. Consistently timed around 90 miles an hour and occasionally as high as 95, both delivered late, inswinging yorkers interspersed with perfectly pitched outswingers.
It was enough to make any watching West Indian envious and anxious for the rapid development of Jermaine Lawson, Darren Powell, Tino Best and others of similar pace to fill a void too long vacant.
Sent in on a pitch still moist from its overnight watering, Australia's top order found Bond's thunderballs too much to handle.
He dispatched both left- handed openers Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist and captain Ricky Ponting for 26 in six overs before Stephen Fleming held him back for a later burst.
Darren Lehmann fell to Andre Adams, like Hayden and Ponting to catches off the outside edge, and when Damien Martyn and Bevan held firm for 12 overs in adding 33, Fleming summoned Bond again.
Once more, he was too much for the Australians.
Martyn stabbed at one that left him late and touched it to the 'keeper.
The left-handed Brad Hogg couldn't get his feet out of the way of the yorker next ball that was headed for middle stump and Steve Bucknor was nodding even before the appeal left New Zealand throats.
Ian Harvey somehow survived the hat-trick ball but missed all eight he received from Bond. The last pitched leg stump and uprooted off.
At 84 for seven, Fleming had a decision to make. Encouraged by Bichel's tentative edge off his fourth ball, he chose to go for broke.
He let Bond have his final over but he couldn't add to his wickets and finished with a second spell of 4-2-3-3.
In his absence, New Zealand had no one to threaten the left-handed Bevan and the competent Bichel and Australia wriggled free.
The giant Jacob Oram, several miles an hour slower, eventually dismissed Bevan for 56 (94 balls, one six, four fours) and Bichel for his personal best 64 (83 balls, one six, seven fours) in the last over.
But Lee smashed his last two balls for sixes over long-on and extra-cover and the smiles that were earlier on New Zealand faces were on the Australians as they left the ground for the break.
The countenances never changed.
Glenn McGrath, noticeably slowing down in his 33rd year, remains one of the game's wiliest bowlers and immediately shook the New Zealand reply with the wickets of the opening hitter, Daniel Vettori, and Nathan Astle in his third over and Scott Styris in his fourth.
It left captain Fleming, the tall, in-form left-hander, with too much to do against opponents seeking, among many other past events, to avenge their embarrassment the New Zealand caused by eliminating them from their own triangular one-day tournament just over a year ago.
He and the experienced Chris Cairns raised a flicker of hope with a stand of 33 but Cairns sliced Bichel's outswinger into third man's lap and Lou Vincent edged to second slip before Ponting called Lee for a second burst.
He was fortunate with the wicket of Fleming who wafted at a wayward, shoulder- high delivery and deflected it from the glove to the 'keeper down the leg-side after playing with real assurance for 48 from 70 balls. After that, Lee found his bearings and no one could keep him out.
Brendon McCallum was LBW to a fast, ankle-high full toss one ball and Oram was bowled off-stump the next by a delivery which replicated Bond's to Harvey earlier.
Another inswinging yorker was enough for Andre Adams and Lee had the better of the battle of the fast bowlers with an acrobatic return catch off Bond that completed the rout.