Graham Thorpe

Watson and White welcome in new era

Tue Oct 06 12:19PM

New Zealand had Australia under the cosh early in their innings, but Cameron White and Shane Watson showed immense character in steering their side to victory.

Once Watson and White had weathered the storm after Tim Paine and Ricky Ponting had fallen early, Australia coasted to victory having timed their run-chase superbly.

Mike Hussey was dropped down the order to stabilise the innings, and the promotion of White proved an inspired move with the batsman rising to the challenge.

Watson was the dominant player with his stunning century, but White played a key role in supporting him and his innings was just as valuable.

Australia have been desperate to have Watson in their side for a long time but injuries have always held him back. Finally he is beginning to flourish.

People will pick up on his clean, crisp hitting, but what stood out for me was his character after Ponting was dismissed - he stepped up and showed real authority.

Both White and Watson have grown in stature through this tournament and they will be key players for Australia going forward.

When Brendon McCullum dropped White at 40 for two, you thought New Zealand may have missed their chance, and so it proved.

The Black Caps never had enough runs behind them to defend and their batting cost them in the end.

Australia put in the hard graft with their bowling and a lack of partnerships from New Zealand batsmen kept Ponting's side in the ascendency.

New Zealand will understandably bemoan the amount of injuries they suffered during the tournament and you cannot blame them for that.

To lose their captain Daniel Vettori on the morning of the final was a crushing blow and you could tell that the side were shaken by that.

But do not forget that Australia were without Brad Haddin, Nathan Bracken and Michael Clarke, so they had to contend with a depleted squad too.

Australia have the strength in depth to make do without those guys and, unfortunately for New Zealand, they do not have that kind of squad.

Bracken has been described by the likes of Alec Stewart as the best limited-overs bowler in the world, but Australia cover all bases and still managed to win without him.

Credit must go to the Black Caps for the way they battled through to the final, beating England and Pakistan in consecutive matches.

Perhaps they peaked in the semi-final, and Australia squeezed them out in the final and did not give them a chance to settle.

The dismissal of McCullum for a duck early on was a huge blow as he can change the momentum of a game very quickly. It certainly set the tone.

New Zealand have once again shown that they are tough, resilient and can adapt over the course of a tournament to do what is required of them.

The Black Caps were again disciplined in the final, but perhaps did not have enough flair when it really mattered. It was a step too far for them.

Shane Bond and Kyle Mills were superb with the new ball, but with the pressure they exerted they really needed two more wickets to make a game of it.

Australia deserved their victory and once again proved that they have the strength in depth to remain the world's best.

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