Australia wins 5th Cricket World Cup

Australia blew away New Zealand to win a fifth Cricket World Cup title on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.

New Zealand, batting first, was bowled out for a paltry 183, in 45 overs. Australia made short work of the target, wiping it away in just 33.1 overs, making 186/3, with 101 balls to spare.

Grant Elliott, with 83, and Ross Taylor, 40, offered the only real resistance to a rampant Australian bowling attack, as the top order, which has been so potent throughout the World Cup, failed to cope with the Aussie bowling attack.

Brendon McCullum, the power-hitting captain and opening batsman, who gave his team early momentum and dominance so often during the World Cup, failed to trouble the scorers on this, the biggest occasion of the tournament, bowled, off-stump, by Mitchell Starc off the fifth ball of the first over for a duck.

The Kiwis never recovered from that early blow. Martin Guptil, the other big-hitting opener, did not last long, himself, making only 15, the score then 33/2. He was followed, six runs later, by Kane Williamson, caught and bowled Mitchell Johnson, at 39/3.

This was the first of three wickets for Johnson, who, bowling at good pace, as usual, ended with destructive figures of 3/30 from nine overs.

James Faulkner also took three wickets - for only 36 runs off nine overs, while Mitchell Starc grabbed 2/20 from eight overs.

The only real resistance to the dominance of the Australian bowlers came during a partnership of 111 between Ross Taylor and Grant Elliott. Once the partnership was broken at 150 with the dismissal of Taylor for 40, it was essentially all over for the Kiwis. The remaining six wickets fell for just 33 runs.

The Australians, in reply, were hardly troubled, except for the early loss of Aaron Finch, caught and bowled Boult for a duck. Warner fell for 45, in the 13th over, but that was all the success New Zealand was fated to achieve when it really mattered.

Australia's captain, Michael Clarke, playing in his final ODI, then joined Steve Smith, his successor-in-waiting, and the two took the score to 175, just nine short of the target, before Clarke fell for a top score of 74, and walked off the MCG to a standing ovation.

The privilege of hitting the winning shot fell to Smith, who did so, appropriately, with a boundary, to finish on 56 not out.