PHOTO: AFP

JOY UNBOUNDED: Brendon McCullum celebrates after scoring the winning runs against Australia in the Chappell-Hadlee ODI series.

HAMILTON: Craig McMillan and Brendon McCullum blasted New Zealand to a stunning series win over Australia, negating a magnificent 181 from Matthew Hayden here on Tuesday.

New Zealand chased down Australia's 346 for five with one wicket and just three balls to spare.

McCullum struck the winning runs, fittingly a boundary, to end unbeaten on 86 off 89 balls while Craig McMillan engineered the victory with a career-high 117 off 96.

The result further demoralised the world champion Australia, which has now lost five matches in a row just a month out from the World Cup. When Hayden walked from the pitch unbeaten on 181 — the highest score by an Australian in one-day cricket — the Australians were in sight of a consolation win in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series.

Australia's confidence grew as New Zealand stumbled to 41 for four with the new glamour batsman Ross Taylor — the hero of the second match in Auckland — already back in the pavilion. But out strode McMillan and the tide turned dramatically.

Fruitful partnership

He joined Peter Fulton to put on 75 in 46 balls for the fifth wicket before Fulton fell for 51. Enter Brendon McCullum and between them the Macs blasted New Zealand back into contention. By the time Watson bowled McMillan, New Zealand had scented victory with nine overs left and only a further 66 runs required.

Australia came back into the reckoning as Mitchell Johnson winkled out James Franklin and Daryl Tuffey reducing New Zealand to its last two wickets with 44 runs required in five overs. Mark Gillespie atoned for bowling New Zealand's most expensive 10-over spell in limited-overs cricket — two for 83 — with a quickfire 28. When he left, McCullum hit a six and four off the first three balls of the final over to complete the series rout for New Zealand. — Agencies

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438-9 (435) RSA v Aus, Johannesburg, 2005-06

350-9 (347) NZ v Aus, Hamilton, 2006-07

340-5 (337), NZ v Aus, Auckland, 2006-07

332-8 (332), NZ v Aus, Christchurch, 2005-06

330-7 (327), Aus v RSA, Port Elizabeth, 2001-02

Figures in brackets indicate targets

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