Two - nil; who’d a thought. I can honestly say that going into this Twenty20 two-match series I didn’t think it’d be like that. I had a chat to Dan [Vettori] last night after the match, “Dan, how cool is this? Two nil, you thought we could win it two nil?” Even he thought it’d probably be a ‘one-all’ series draw. We sat back and enjoyed the great feeling around the changing room. We spoke about how often NZ teams get into winning positions in matches and series and let it slip, last night was the chance to fix that, maybe we’re not the best team on show out there, but we got it done, ugly, pretty, gutsy, whatever, we got it done.

Dan won the toss, again - I just cut and pasted that from my last entry! I keep it on the clipboard to cut and paste in as it seems to be so frequent. We were going to bowl on a deck that looked like it had a little bit in it. There was a match before us on the deck, NZCPA Masters v the ACPA Masters, and I got to watch a little of it on the TV before we headed down to the ground; the pitch did a little but towards the end it flattened out all right. We expected it to do just little so bowling first was always the best option.

Tim [Southee] bowled a great first over and I had the second. For some reason I was a whole lot more nervous at the time than I had been for a long time; a big, noisy home crowd and two destructive batsmen was the recipe that made my heart beat crazily! I tried to make a joke with Jake [Oram] , to maybe lighten the moment. But standing 15 meters away, he couldn’t hear me it was so noisy out there, so that didn’t help.

Right then, relax; remember the plan; see the delivery; smooth bouncy run-up; feel the rhythm; relax the shoulders; jump strong; hold the front arm; release the back shoulder; feel it off the fingertips and hope it don’t go for six.

It didn’t, just a single but ball three and five did race to the fence of Virender Sehwag’s blade for fours. I couldn’t find the lengths I wanted to bowl, that over just didn’t go where it was supposed to go. My next over was better, one run and one wicket from it, and the wicket was Sehwag. I had a quick chat to Baz [McCullum] before this ball. He had come running down with a piece of advice, something we’re asking the senior players to do more of, and, well, the result was handy. Not quite the execution I wanted with the delivery but Sehwag was gone and we’re a happy bunch of boys!

Ian Butler’s start to the bowling crease saw Gautam Gambhir find the middle of his bat but two balls later the danger man from the last match, Suresh Raina, sent a catch Timmy’s way and he obliged. I sprinted as quickly as I could from fine leg to get to the huddle; that was what we needed.

My third over of this spell wasn’t quite right either, good bouncer first up to Yuvraj Singh was followed up with a straight half volley, not the best from me, and he, as he should have, deposited me back over my head for a four. Damn, come on OB, get it right. I finished that over with 1 for 23 off 3, not to bad, but could have been a whole lot better. Got to get my execution right, the plans are right; I just haven’t got the ball in the right areas.

My last over, the 13th of the innings, and Yuvraj is still in and being dangerous. I snuck a dot ball in to start, the next one though went a long way, in fact it only just missed my parents in the crowd; honestly missed them by two rows sailing just over their heads! Another dot ball and then what we were after: not the best delivery of mine but Jake, out on the cover fence, wasn’t going to turn that catch down a metre or so inside the rope. There was just one more run of the over and I finish with 2 for 30 off my four. I’m ‘kinda’ pleased with the figures but not with how I bowled overall. I’ll bowl better and can guarantee you that I’ll go for more; I still have things to work on, but I know what they are and have the opportunity to do so over the next few days.

Dan was very good again and Jesse [Ryder] bowled his four overs for just 18. These two combined meant that we held India to 149; a target we would have been happy with at the start of the match.

Baz, again, was just so special. Jesse and Baz put on 53 for the first wicket in real quick time; Jesse’s six of the first ball of the innings really set the tone for the early chase. When these two boys combine it is one of the most awesome things to watch and with us all watching from the dugout we were constantly up and down off our seats in awe and excitement.

Rossco [Taylor], again (I love using the word ‘again’ in this way, repeating quality performances is one of the big things in our team) was special. Twenty seven off 25 balls in a well-paced innings with only two boundaries. He’s showing great skills as a dangerous boundary hitter and in an innings like this one, the ability to turn over the scoreboard with singles and twos.

Irfan Pathan’s second to last over, the 18th, was as good as it gets at this stage of a game. Five runs and two big wickets turned the game right around on its head. Up until then we were going along very nicely and then all of a sudden things started to get a bit tense in the dugout.
There were then 12 left to win from the last over and Irfan to bowl his fourth; if it’s anything like his last over then we are in trouble. The brothers are out there, Nathan McCullum on strike, single off the first. Single off the second with Baz on strike; really could have done with a boundary there to calm our nerves. Another single followed off the third ball leaves nine needed from three balls and Baz on strike. We’re not out of it yet!

Bang, Baz goes through midwicket, four, we’re all off our seats shouting and clapping. Five off two now and bang, Baz goes to the boundary again, beats the straight fielders to the sightscreen boundary; amazing! One off one, field is up and as if to add tension to the moment Baz swings hard and only just, and I mean only just, clears mid-off for the winning single. Benches cleared, we’re all out of the dugout celebrating. The noise inside the ground was amazing and the noise that we were making was almost as loud.

Last night was the longest time I have ever spent in a changing room, longer than we spent at Perth and I thought that was a late one. There was no way I was going to be on the early bus, I wanted to enjoy this for as long as possible. We got back to the hotel, I had a quick shower and put on my favourite Illicit t-shirt and headed out with the guys for a couple. The town was packed; it was as everyone from the ground had piled into the one bar. What an atmosphere, I don’t know how many handshakes and pats on the back I got last night, certainly more than I’ve ever had. Thank you all for being so friendly, great night!

Up and off to the gym this morning, a little bit tough to drag myself out of bed, but it had to be done and I feel pretty good for it. We have the rest of the day off before training tomorrow morning here in Wellington and then head up to Napier to prepare for the ODI series. I always look forward to getting to Napier; a) I love the place and, b) I get to catch up with my best mate and his fantastic family. Catch you soon DNWO!

I support the New Zealand Foundation of the Blind as a charity; I’ve got two auctions going from now that the foundation will prosper from, so please bid and bid large. One is my signed shirt from this Twenty20 series and the other auction is Brendon McCullum’s Man-of-the-Match medal from last night’s match-winning knock. Brendon will sign the back of it before I send it and I will send a photo with it of McCullum signing it as proof of authenticity.

Winning is an amazing feeling and it's not necessarily something we've done enough of in the last 12 months. Last night was amazing. Last night we won. Not going to get carried away, but it was a great feeling beating the world champion Twenty20 team.

From the previous evening when we had had a very good 'scouting' session to crossing the white line last night just before 7.00 pm I had a pretty good feeling about this match. Our 'scouting' notes were as complete as I've ever seen, it's not a complete document by any mean stretch of the imagination, but it's a very good place to start and we've added to it since last night; it's evolving. In fact the first thing I did after we came off the field was to write down some notes on a couple of their batters, I spied Dan doing the same thing, we'll discuss these before the next T20 in Wellington and rework some of the plans from there.

There is huge interest here in NZ for this series as I'm sure there is in India. There are a lot of excited Indians living here as well as the NZ public who have been looking forward to watching some of the most talented cricketers on this earth play on our soil. While walking around Christchurch there has been a lot of well wishes coming from the friendly public, it's an enjoyable thing when a stranger walks past and wishes you luck for the match and series. I really hope the crowds come out and support us at the grounds, like they did last night, and make it as fun as atmosphere as possible.

So, the game … Dan won the toss, again, it is ridiculous how many he wins; never gamble against Dan, or do so and Dan, I'll take a cut! Oh yeah, Dan chose to bowl first.

It was to be Timmy and I to open the bowling and he'd get the first over, not quite the start we were hoping for though. Sehwag was amazing in the short time he was out there. With him and Gambhir opening the innings it's fair to say I was pretty nervous heading into my first over after Sehwag had taken Timmy for 19 off the first. From the notes we had gathered on these batters I had made some shorter notes that I had on a piece of paper in my pocket. I referred to these quite a few times while we were out there, in time I'll have them in memory, until then, I don't mind having to refer to my notes so that I am not getting the plan wrong. A quick little school up on them both and I'm into it. I felt pretty good, I did notice myself running in to hard for the first ball and pulled it back before I got to the crease, relaxed into it and got off to a nice start. I finished the over in the best way possible, a smile on my face, a leap and punch in the air, a whole heap of high fives and middle stump lying flat on the ground; now that is a great feeling! Gambhir, one of the danger men, gone but no chance to relax because there's a whole heap of those danger men to come.

I wouldn't normally recognise that I was running in too hard until maybe my second over. I was really pleased that I picked up on it first ball and gave me ever chance to get it right throughout my spell. I started my second over the same way I finished my first, except it was leg stump lying on the ground this time; they must have watered the stump holes to help them come out when hit, don't mind that as it does look good when a stump comes tumbling out. That's Sewhag out, 26 off 10 balls, one of the most destructive batters in the world and we saw, first hand, how destructive he could be in his short stay. Jake did say to me, ironically, in my second over that “we might be able to get this ball to reverse later” after the punishment the ball had taken while being hit at, into and over the new stand in construction.

I finished my first two overs with figures of 2 for 13, not the worst start and was feeling good getting around the park, fine leg to fine leg a couple of times, anywhere to keep out of the action as my fielding is a 'work in progress'. I'm not that bad but I'm certainly not as good as some of the others. Baz is always on my case with my throws to him and I was pretty happy not to get a angry look, a shake of the head or some 'expressive encouragement' from him the few times I had to get the ball back in; I'm working on it, but I do think I have the 'yips' when throwing back to him.

I came back for an over in the middle stages with the hope of a wicket, defensive plan to Raina and on the hunt to IK Pathan, the over went for five, happy with that, but no wicket. At that stage an over of five we were pretty happy with and that gave me three overs for 18; not bad with this batting line up. Alas, from there my figures then took a hit. I bowled the 19th over, Raina, still in and playing a great knock, with Harbhajan on strike. My plan was to try to keep Harbhajan on strike as long as possible and try not to bowl to Raina; it didn't quite work out like that. Single off the first ball brought Raina on strike, it's now my job to get him off strike with a single, hit the hole with a yorker and hope it just goes for one. I was slightly too full and he hit a low full toss over the small boundaries for six, damn! An adjustment next ball and I'm just slightly too short giving him the chance to get under it, and he did, it went a long way up and with Guppy under it I thought there was a chance for him to catch it; not quite, it just sailed over his head for another six. Dan and I changed the field and changed the plan as that one wasn't working, the boundaries here in Christchurch just are not big enough to keep with the original plan. Dot ball, brilliant and then he's sliced me past third man for a sweet four; not much I could do about that, Dan and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, it was a good ball and he's got it away, fair play young man!! Just a single off the last ball and there's 18 off an over that actually wasn't that bad in terms of execution, although not perfect, sometimes it happens that way. I was a reasonably happy lad walking off the park, after the explosive start India got off to, the skilled hitters they have and the small boundaries 162 was going to be a tough score to defend.

We got off to a slow, or measured, start and lost Jesse first ball from Sharma in the second over of the innings. Wickets always slow run-rates down and it did exactly that! Nine runs of three overs is a slow start but that was all it took for the lads to find their timing. Fifteen of the next Sharma over and then 11 of Khan and we're back on track, looking pretty and feeling good.

All the guys from there played really well, Rossco just continued on his great form, Baz played the anchor role and batted though and with Jake coming in at the end blazing 29 off 15 balls in his comeback match we had the game won with seven balls to spare and some power hitting still in the shed; not a bad place to finish a game!

A very happy changing room, we didn't have the luxury of being able to sit around at the ground for to long as it was a pretty early start this morning, a short turn around between games and training this afternoon meant it was a pretty early night.

Back in Wellington now, it's tea time and I'm starving! The last couple of days have been huge for my blog, over 20,000 more views yesterday alone. Thanks for the support and for the sometimes 'crazy' messages left on the comments.....

I did bump into a mate at the end of the game who I hadn't seen for a while. Mikey from a pretty damn good NZ band called Autozamm, along with his mate Nic, also from Autozamm, who had been playing 'O' week in Christchurch, had changed their flights to stick around and watch this match, so when I heard they were out the back I got myself off there for a catch up. Last time I saw them they were opening for Powderfinger and Silver Chair, and of those very good bands Autozamm easily were the best on stage that night, they cleaned up. Good to see ya mate and I'm looking forward to seeing you play again soon!

Last time I sat to type we were 2-2 in a 5 match series against the Aussies; that's a while ago now. No apologies, I've just been really busy. The series stayed level after a wash out in Brisbane, a match I think we would have won seven out of ten times from that position. The T20 a couple of days later we lost, too many dot balls marred our batting innings from a position of strength to one of desperation. We couldn't quite get over the line, a very disappointing way to finish a close series, one that we could have won and taken the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy back across the Tasman.

Now I sit here in Christchurch with the dreams of warmer climates in my head. The tour to Australia was a warm one, most days there around and above 30C. It's 14C today, not warm enough for me, and really not warm enough for our opponents. Oh well, poor them; welcome to NZ boys! I actually passed most of them in the street yesterday, rugged up, I bet they can't casually walk along the street at home. They must be loving it, apart from the weather, that is.

I am looking forward to tomorrow night’s Twenty20. Huge interest over here - this is the big tour here of the summer. The series against the Windies was weather-marred, hopefully we get full opportunity to play these games in some great weather on some great decks, although if the cold weather helps us make the visitors feel uncomfortable, I'll take every advantage we can get.

Since getting back from Australia I've missed one Twenty20 for Wellington, a rest after the tour, and been back for the two remaining matches. Had a couple of great days out at a special place called Castle Point, great beaches and just an amazing place!

One washout and the second one, up in the lovely Mt Manguanui at Bay Park, on a lovely day where we, Wellington, had a one-sided win. I was only needed for two overs at the start of the innings, was coming back for a third in the 20th over except we bowled them out in the 19th.
Graham Napier finished off a great season for Wellington by picking up a couple of cheap wickets in his four overs before he headed off to join the England 'A' team on their tour of NZ. Nap's has been great over here for Wellington; his season has been brilliant for both himself and us. He's bowled with pace, energy and smarts the whole time and I look forward to seeing him in the IPL and in the English domestic season. Great job mate, catch ya soon, hopefully in a county match over there!

Right then, till Thurs, where I'll be blogging the Twenty20 match v the Indians, that'll do for now. Enjoy.

	© Getty Images

So we head to Brisbane with the series drawn at 2-2. Tuesday night's loss had turned this series into a real nail bitter.

It was another typical belter at Adelaide, a ground known for its great batting decks, this one, no different. Dan won the toss and we wanted to bat first, so we did.

Before play both teams lined up for a moments silence in memory of the people that have lost their lives in the bushfires in Victoria. This has been a very surreal event to be over here and living through. The news is constant, the papers are full of pics and stories and I really just can't handle it. I'm on the outside looking in and I just can't watch or read any media. It just gets to me so much, my over active imagination starts thinking of what if it was my family over here going through this. What if it was our house that had gone, if my parents, my family had been caught up in it? I just can't imagine what these people are going through. I just play cricket for a living, it's the best job in the world, I'm so happy about where I'm at and what I'm doing and then there are these people that have just lost everything, and more! My deepest sympathies go out to all the people involved and the ones directly affected. And to the people out there fighting the fires, dealing with the misplaced families, the volunteers and the people that have given so generously to the funds, you people are amazing!

Baz's shoulder had come through ok, so he opened with Gups. Good little start from these two, 69 for the first wicket into the 18th over, sure they weren't racing along but nothing helps more at the end of an innings than wickets in hand, especially when setting a total. We then lost two more wickets for the addition of 17 runs. 69-1 to 86-3 is a big setback and it took another good partnership from Taylor and Elliott to put us back into a position that we could launch from at the death. Rossco and TS are in great form, they put on 55 in 11 overs through the middle of the innings, steadied the ship and calmed a few nerves in the viewing area.

When TS was dismissed for 26 off 28 we were 141, six wickets in hand and 16 overs left; pretty handy position to launch from and look for around 260. Not to be, we lost Cumming in the next over which was a huge loss for us and him; he's been in some pretty good form in the domestic competition back home, I should know, he's taken me for a few runs this summer.
We scrapped our way to 244 with a good knock from Millsy. Rossco innings was great; he was dismissed in the power play off a ball that he generally puts about 20 rows back, just one of those things, but his knock gave us a good chance!

It had been a pretty cold day so far, easily the coldest of the tour, and in saying that we've managed to miss pretty much all of the very hot weather that has been around. We've been playing in temps of 30-38C but the days either side of the matches have been up into the mid 40's; we've been very lucky, especially bowling first in the heat.

I headed out to the field with three layers on top as opposed to just the playing shirt as it has been in the previous three games, it was going to be hard to keep the hands warm and get the body back ready to bowl again in the later spells.

I bowled pretty well on Tuesday; my areas were more consistent than in the three previous games. I wasn't running in quite as quick and it felt pretty smooth through my action. I still have some consistency things to work on, but on the whole I was pretty happy with my bowling. My first ball I bowled Clarke hit me over the top of TS at mid on who got a couple of fingertips to it, a chance first ball, it just could be my day, and three balls later and I've got Clarke to hit one to Fults at short cover, happy days! As good a start as I could have asked for.

I came back on towards the end of the innings, we needed a wicket, and I couldn't deliver two overs for seven with two overs left in my ten.

We really needed to break the partnership, mid-on and mid-off up, a slip in and playing with the dice. My ninth over went for too many as Hussey took the bait to hit over the up field. He did it well and I didn't quite get my lengths right, next over was back to the simple death plan, and it paid off; David Hussey out second ball. This was the gamble we took at Sydney too, try to get wickets or restrict runs, in this instance trying to restrict runs by going death maybe was the better option, for me anyway.

We hadn't scored enough runs, but we still didn't really give ourselves a chance with the ball. Millsy, again, was brilliant and since this spell of bowling I had some good chats with him on how he constructs his overs and his spells; personally it's good to be doing pretty well and learning at the same time.

I've been picked in the T20 team that will be staying on for the one T20 in Sydney on the 15th. Really looking forward to making my T20 debut, should be a whole pile of nervous fun! But first, Friday, a hugely important and special match. We have the chance to do something not ever been done before, win an ODI series in Australia. A real good feel around the team for this one and we can't wait to play the 5th match of the series in front of a big, and friendly, crowd at the Gabba.

	© Getty Images

No big party last night, alas.

Although we did take it closer than some thought and hushed the crowd towards the end of the match. Bowling first, again, after Dan won the toss on a track that looked pretty good for a one-dayer; and it was. There was a change at the top of the Australian order with Warner missing out and Haddin opening; what a week for him.

Haddin and Clarke played with more positivity than we'd seen so far in the series at the top. They played well, hit the bad balls, and turned good balls into boundary options by moving around the crease. I think they trusted this pitch a little more too, or gambled harder, hitting some good balls, through the line and over the top.

My first spell wasn't too bad. We had planned on being quite aggressive with our lines and lengths and to take wickets as early as possible. I ran in hard and bowled as fast as I have done, things felt good, I even had to take my run up maker back a foot so that I didn't end up 'no balling'. I let go of a yorker that slid under Haddins's bat and fizzed past his off stump early in his innings, an inch or so straighter and it could have been a different day.

It wasn't until my second spell that I took my first wicket; this was my first over in the 'batters' Powerplay and the third of my spell. The ball change had just happened and it was a really hard and newish looking ball. It was certainly an opportunity for the batters to score quickly with the harder ball, but also for the bowler to hit the deck hard and see if it does anything off the harder seam.

And it did with my first ball, one just jumped a little off the deck and Baz [Brendon McCullum] took catch of David Hussey's edge; the perfect start to the Powerplay. I managed to get through a wicket maiden here with White facing out the last five balls, all dots. That's as good a result as I could imagine at this stage of the match.

Earlier in the innings Baz had been keeping up to Millsy and had worn one, which bounced a little more, on the point of his right shoulder, it flew away as if it had taken the shoulder of the bat. It had been giving Baz a lot of trouble through the innings and at drinks he shot off for a pain killing injection. Soon after he came back on he ran Haddin out with his left hand, his right arm, at the time, wasn't too much use.

I came back at the 'death' and I was tossing up in my head whether to gamble to take wickets or just try to bowl dots. I guess I should have just bowled dots. I got a couple of balls in the wrong place and they ended up at the fence and when I went back to my other dot or one run ball options I was a lot better and picked up a wicket with a yorker, the last ball of my 10 overs.

This really annoyed me, why was I gambling, why wasn't I just trying to limit their scoring options and possibly picking up wickets when they made the mistake. It's a fine line between being reckless and economical. It was one of those days that could have been better; a couple of inside edges past the stumps for boundaries, some good balls going for four, that's one-day cricket; ride the luck your making or get hurt trying to make it.

Our run chase didn't start to well, Baz wasn't able to open. In fact, he wasn't going to bat at all had we either got their comfortably or not close at all. Fults stepped up to the opening spot from No. 3 and everyone else came up one. Not a perfect scenario but one of those that you just have to get on with.

Fults played well for his 40 and that steady ship gave us a chance in the chase after losing Gups and Rossco early.

We lost three wickets pretty quickly in the middle, Broom, Millsy and Dan fell in a space of about four overs; this really stalled our chase. Timmy came in and hit a couple out of the middle and all of a sudden Baz has his pads on sitting behind Jeets and I. We still needed a hundred odd, but anything can happen with one guy in (Elliott) and Baz at the crease, and it almost did. The crowd was noisy and expectant for an Australian win, they eventually got it, but not without some nervous moments.

It wasn't to be though. Once Elliott's innings came to an end and Baz departing soon after that left Jeets and I to get 30 odd of three overs; a bit of a big ask, but we'd give it a go. I got three bouncers in a row from Hilfenhaus, not surprisingly. I got under them like a top order player, except that in this form of the game and in this situation we needed runs, not me to not get out. I've worked so hard to get rid of the pull/hook shot from my game that I now have to re learn it to certain situations.

As I mentioned in my last blog Grant Elliott has started up his own bat company with a couple of lads in our Wellington Firebird's team. It's taken a while to get off the ground with getting ICC approval being the hardest task. Finally, "buzzbats.co.nz" is up and away. And there is no better way for TS (Elliott) to be getting his product out there than by scoring 61* in our win that the MCG and then yesterday's amazing 115 at the SCG. His knock yesterday was as good a one-day hundred as you're going to see especially in the circumstances. He was bumped up the order after Baz wasn't able to open to four from five and looked comfortable from ball one.

And now in his 14th one-dayer, with an average of around 85.00, he looks like the international cricketer he has had the potential to be. I'm sure that now he's promoting his own product when he's batting there's an even higher motivation to hang about and raise his Buzz bat.

So here we are in Adelaide, we're 2-1 up with two games to go. This series is important to us and last night's loss was a bummer, losing hurts, no matter what. In saying that we lost a game of cricket, and when you think about perspective it's not that bad at all. Families in Victoria and NSW are losing not only their homes, but their families. These bush fires are horrific. I know one of the Victoria Police that is out there doing their bit to help out, pulling double shifts and giving up days off to work; these fires affect so many people. I just hope as this series goes on we can do something to help the families, the fire-fighters and police and anyone involved with this disaster.

I've just come from our captain's meeting and I can reveal that as a team we are donating a considerable part of our match fee towards this disaster. It's a great thing that we can help out. We are also giving up a signed playing shirt to be auctioned off at the end of the series. Here's hoping that auction makes a small fortune, cause they need it!

	© Getty Images

Welcome to the 'G'. What an amazing place to visit, to watch sport, let alone have the honour to play in front of sports-loving Melbourne crowd.

I had never been here before, been to Melbourne a couple of times in the past but I had never even visited [the MCG]. Training this week was hard; we came from a great last-ball win in Perth and had to work hard on staying honest with our training as the heat and tiredness from the last game had taken its toll, on me at least. Heading out to fielding training in the middle was pretty special. The Great Southern Stand, not looking so 'Great' anymore as the new stand is a whole lot bigger, it is still so impressive; we could do with something like this in NZ, obviously not as big, but certainly as intimidating. The near vertical seating looms so high above you and you know they have a great view no matter how high they are up.

We won the toss and bowled again. We're playing on a used wicket, as we did in Perth; this suits us as we don't bowl as quick as the Australians and we have two of the best spinners in one-day cricket world; we're playing on decks perfectly suited to our current style.

Millsy [Kyle Mills] was amazing, his first six overs went for 12 runs and picked up the heavy-hitting Warner in that spell for just two runs off 11 balls. He is bowling really well at the moment and is leading the attack with the experience he has, questioning our plans and deliveries regularly, making me a better player. This was the start we needed, it kept them in check and it showed us the lengths and variations we needed to bowl to be successful. Timmy [Tim Southee] picked up Haddin [Brad Haddin] and we were right on top. Haddin's welcome to the G was one I won't forget. He’s had a tough week after the [Neil] Broom dismissal in Perth, and let’s clear one thing up right here, Dan [Daniel Vettori] never called him a 'cheat.' Okay! Haddin, an Australian was 'booed' onto the ground. I never ever thought I'd have ever heard that; sure there might have been a few Kiwis in the crowd, but not all of 'Bay 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15' could be Kiwis! Interesting to see how the Aussie public viewed the whole drama.

I came on to bowl in the 12th over, still with the field up and started pretty well. I had been bowling well in the nets, hitting areas I had been asking of myself and had taken a lot of confidence into this match. I was bowling to my fields and then had a bit of a meltdown, it didn't cost me much, but it could have. We have plans to certain batsmen and I know these pretty well and have studied them and revised them plenty going into this series. All of a sudden I started bowling to [Michael] Clarke not to plan. This meant the field was wrong for my areas and I leaked a three and a four in an area that wasn't patrolled as strongly as where I he should have been hitting. Don't ask me why, I can't tell you, but I owned up to it this morning in the review, and quite rightly, got a good stern telling off from Millsy. I'm learning, and fast!

I came back for the batting Powerplay for the two overs from one end and was really happy with how I bowled in this 'scary' time. No wickets for me this time, but no boundaries either and we we're getting the feeling that we were well in front of this one.

Dan, again, was inexpensive and together with Jeets [Jeetan Patel] we stayed on top of them by bowling good areas and fielding well.

I was back for the 'death', three overs into the light wind that was cooling things down out there for us. Hussey [Michael Hyssey] and Clarke still out there and we needed a couple of wickets so we could, hopefully, drag back the score that was attainable by them. Guppy [Martin Guptill], out in the deep, pulled off a great piece of fielding from a Hussey hit off me. A slower ball which was hit high to Guppy at long-on, it was touch and go as to it making the boundary and him catching it, in the end, both happened. Gups caught it and with the momentum he had ended up over the rope, but flicked the ball back in before he touched the ground, turning a six into just a two. Genius! Next ball, I had Hussey, another slower ball, a real gamble, and Dan took a good catch at midwicket.

Next over I picked up Clarke on 98, bowled him off his pads. I had hit him square on the toe the previous ball, and he had some time to recover from that; they hurt, a lot. Next ball he charged me to the leg side a little and I just bowled it as fast as I could into him, took his pad and into the top of middle. I was pretty happy with this one especially as it's never nice having hundreds scored against you. In my ten overs I only went to the boundary once; pretty happy about that too.

We then went out and put together a really strong and disciplined chase. Baz [Brendon McCullum], at the top, was 'bloody minded' and stayed out there and gave us a great base to work from. Rossco [Ross Taylor], again, was brilliant, his runs were match-winning. [Grant] Elliott was amazing; his new ODI high score in a great chase at the MCG. The pace of his innings and the control he showed was what has been brewing in him for a while. And happy for him too as he has just started up a 'bat' company and this was the first time he got to use it, all stickered up out there in a one-dayer.

Another great feel when the winning runs were hit over the boundary. Elliott and Broom out there hugged and celebrated and we on the sideline hugged and celebrated. We're two-nil up in a five-match series. Who'd a thought! What a great feeling. A couple of quiets in the changing room, but not too many as we have to travel the next day and play in Sydney the day after that. A quick turnaround is required and we can't afford to take the foot off the gas. We'd love to win the series here in Sydney and celebrate it in style!

And to my club mates at home, nice job this weekend Petone Riverside, great win boys!

Well, well, well... This will probably be the toughest blog I've had to write. Don't want to get carried away, but .... wow, that's a great feeling; beating the Australians in their own back yard. We arrived here to a newspaper headline, "Even This Useless Mob Think They Can Beat Us." Well, actually, yes we did think we could win, and mate, we did.

That is as good a feeling I have ever experienced in cricket. The elation in the changing room after Dan hit the last ball of the match through the field for the winning run was pure, an amazing feeling. That's the most 'man love' I have ever seen in a changing room. It was just one match in a series of five, but after a game that roller-coasted until the last ball, our loss to the PM's XI and in the heat and conditions that we played in, we were one very happy bunch of boys!

I was nervous, and excited, heading into this match. My last ODI, my first one, didn't go so good; six overs, 1 for 59 in two three-over spells. Not good enough, hence it was my one and only match before yesterday. We lost the toss and bowled first, we probably would have batter first too had Dan [Vettori] kept up his run with the tosses. It was hot, and humid. This was going to be hard work which was part of the reason we were keen to bat first so that we could bowl in the cooler conditions. I passed Shaun Tait as we were walking heading off from warm-ups, just after the toss, he was pretty pleased he didn't have to bowl first up in the heat, and I couldn't blame him. Our 'Dirtys' and management crew did a great job around the boundaries and onto the field with the drinks. The boundary riders got drinks handed to them from the other side of the rope and the inner-circle fielders got drinks run out to them at great pace so to not slow down the play by the 'Dirtys'. These small efforts often go unnoticed but can add so much to the team's performance.

[Kyle] Millsy and Timmy [Southee] started the innings off well with the ball; both had it swinging and gave the openers very little to hit. Warner had looked dangerous since his debut in the Twenty20 v the South Africa; we were certainly weary of his abilities and Shaun Marsh had looked pretty solid. To have them both out within the first nine overs was the best start we could have asked for. Then a piece of brilliance from Neil Broom in the outfield, an amazing throw to run Ponting out was all we could have asked for. And as if lightning doesn't strike twice, Guptill, with an equally great throw, ran Michael Clarke out as he too came back for the second. That's four down, the top four, and we couldn't be happier.

I had started my overs by now and had started pretty well. Two balls stood out in my first spell though, one that went screaming through the covers to the fence and then another that met the fence quickly at midwicket as I dropped too short, with not enough on it, to Clarke after bowling him a good bouncer. A couple of poor follow-up balls, which let the pressure off, frustrated me.
Four-over spell to start with. Then I came back for a two-over blast and then finished up with four overs in a row at the end of the innings.

I have been bowling for Wellington in the batting Powerplay and have felt like I've done pretty well, I wanted to bowl in it for NZ too and I got my chance. My three last overs were in the Powerplay. Hussey and Hopes were in and it was time for them to take the attack to us. We had done quite a bit of scouting on both of these guys for this time of the innings so we had our plans pretty well-set. And it worked. I picked them both up in the first Powerplay over much to my, and our, relief. Both these boys are dangerous and by dismissing them pulled back the total that we would be chasing. Huss and Hopes were caught inside the ring, both mid-on and mid-off were up and that was the gamble, it worked. This Powerplay can work both ways, it's, obviously, a chance to score big runs, but for the fielding team it is a genuine opportunity to take wickets with the batsmen getting a touch more expansive.

We bowled pretty well at the death and Millsy picked up his fourth wicket of the innings, another fantastic performance from one of the world's best.

With 182 to win, it was the worst possible start we could have asked for. Baz [McCullum] was unlucky in the second ball of the innings after getting an inside edge into his pad to be given out lbw. Not much you can do about it. Then we lost Fults and Gup with the score on 25. Three for 25 and Australia have got the start they would need to halt us in our chase. It's not too often you see three slips in a one-day match but with Tait bowling fast and with a little bit of shape Australia had the lot in; attack and leave no questions unanswered.

We were a little nervous up in the shed; we knew it wasn't going to be the easiest chase on that deck. A 39-run partnership restored a little bit of composure to the scoreboard. Broomy and Rossco [Taylor] then put on 42 for the next wicket and we're looking good again, then Rossco and Millsy put on the best 62-run partnership I think I've ever seen and got us within 14 of the 182 we needed. It was here that things started to get a bit twitchy in the changing room. Rossco was dismissed with 12 runs left and 15 balls remaining; now it was going to be tight. I headed out the back of the viewing room to get padded up and ready for whatever scenario was going to be set for me.

Eight down, four runs needed, every chance that I was going to have to bat or at least get out there for a ball or two. I was really quite excited about it, actually looking forward to being out there when the winning runs were going to be scored, possibly having the chance to get them. It's a whole world away but I've had the chance for Wellington in similar situations to get out there and finish a game off with success so I was backing myself to be able to do whatever was asked, bat on ball and run as fast as I can!

I wasn't needed, Jeets, coolly scored two of the two balls he faced and Dan hit the last ball through the field for the remaining run to win. Hugs, cheers, high fives, you name it, we were enjoying it. What a feeling!

We stayed in the changing room till rather late on Sunday night, much to the displeasure of the security that had to stay at the ground till we left. Sorry guys, but we were having fun! We had a travel day yesterday, in Melbourne now preparing for the next match on Friday at the 'G'. I can't wait! Got a few friends to catch up with here, should be a good stay, I'm just hoping the temps stay down a bit!