In a six over burst she took two wickets for 14 runs and at the 15 over mark New Zealand were 45 for four wickets. Haidee Tiffen was 11 not out and Maia Lewis three not out.

New Zealand disrupted their normal batting pattern in a clear bid to combat the threat posed by Australian speedster Cathryn Fitzpatrick who had cleaned out both Rebecca Rolls and Emily Drumm in the earlier games.

Kate Pulford opened instead of Rolls but apart from an imperious back foot square drive for four runs, it didn't really work as Pulford edged a ball from Emma Twining behind to wicket-keeper Julia Price for five runs.

In the next over, Fitzpatrick softened Drumm up with a short, lifting ball which she spared at uncomfortably, dropping the ball in front of her. Off the next ball she laid back and cut it past the slips for four. In their previous encounter on Thursday, Fitzpatrick had gleaned a catch at gully.

She repeated the ball and this time Drumm played the ball onto her stumps to be gone for five and New Zealand were 12 for two wickets and in deep strife.

Then when Rolls and Nicola Payne had taken the score through to 27, Payne was given out leg before wicket to Fitzpatrick after what had been a surprisingly muted appeal to umpire Tony Hill. She had scored 13.

Two overs later, new bowler Julie Hayes gained another lbw appeal success from Hill when Rolls was on seven. At 34 for four wickets in the 13th over, New Zealand's hopes of success had all but faded.

Under a study of the records of ODIs for women, teams who score 200 batting first have a 95% chance of winning. That is the factor New Zealand must beat.

Given the batting start provided by Australian captain Belinda Clark, the total could have been much higher but some competitive bowling and fielding restrained the Australians in the last 10 overs when the scored only 55 runs while losing six wickets.

On a day when the record books took a hammering, Clark achieved the most noteworthy feat of becoming the highest run scorer in women's One-Day Internationals when reaching 68 to head off New Zealand great Debbie Hockley's total of 4064 runs. She achieved the feat when scoring her 68th run. She achieved the feat in her 86th ODI innings while Hockley had taken 115 innings.

However, when she reached 80, the innings was in need of a scoring rate boost and it was clear she had been increasing the risk factor in her stroke play. It was Frances King, who had dropped her off Kate Pulford's bowling two overs earlier, who got through her defences and bowled her to end her 119-ball innings. Australia were 176 for five wickets.

Melanie Jones was intent on attack but it cost her dearly when she tried to pull a ball from Nicola Browne which skied high behind the wicket and down the leg-side where wicket-keeper Rebecca Rolls took the catch to equal Englishwoman Jane Cassar's world record of 80 dismissals in One-Day Internationals. Jones scored 18 and Australia were 124 for three wickets.

In the same over, the 31st, Clark brought up her 28th half-century off 91 balls.

Heading into the last 15 overs, Australia were 140 for three wickets with Clark on 58 and Michelle Goszko on six.

But as has been the case so often in the tournament the drinks break broke the concentration of the batsmen and it was Goszko who succumbed when trapped leg before wicket by off spinner Aimee Mason for six.

Australia's run rate was coming under pressure from the New Zealand bowlers and the side's third 50 took 81 balls, compared to 84 for the first 50 and 77 for the second.

Mason complemented the earlier effort of left-arm spinner Rebecca Steele by getting through her 10 overs for one wicket for 34.

New Zealand's bowlers responded superbly to keep the pressure on the Australian middle-order as they attempted to up the scoring rate. It was classical chess game and it brought its reward when Julie Hayes was run out for four when attempting a quick single but getting no response from Alex Blackwell. Maia Lewis' return to bowler King was perfect and Hayes was well short at 185 and Australia were 185 for six wickets.

In the next over Cathryn Fitzpatrick hit a ball from Pulford to backward square leg for four then was trapped leg before wicket for five next ball.

Julia Price was also run out, this time for six from a direct hit by Haidee Tiffen at the bowler's end. With seven balls left in the innings, Australia were 205 for eight wickets.

Alex Blackwell's competitive innings of 21 was ended when she was leg before wicket to Frances King and then Clare Smith was run out for six when one ball remained in the innings. The chance coming from a mix-up and untidy return in the field and the run out came off an overthrow.

King ended with three wickets for 44 runs.

After 30 overs they had scored 123 for two wickets. Belinda Clark had scored 48 off 88 balls and Melanie Jones 18 off 24 balls.

A significant breakthrough for New Zealand came when point fieldsman Maia Lewis snapped up a lovely catch low down, and in front of her, to dismiss Australia's danger bat Karen Rolton for 34 scored off 50 balls.

Rolton and Clark had added 68 runs for the third wicket and were starting to look ominous. Rolton has a formidable record on Bert Sutcliffe Oval and in 12 innings before today she was averaging 104.66 on the ground, including two centuries and five half-centuries.

Frances King was the bowler to claim the wicket, having replaced Rebecca Steele from the southern end after the left-arm spinner took one for 38 from her 10 overs unchanged at the start of the innings.

Belinda Clark was still looking ominous and at the 30-over mark she was 20 runs from claiming the world record for most runs in women's One-Day Internationals.

The early pressure from the bowlers loosened a little as Kate Pulford and King came under assault.

Melanie Jones was a reminder to the home bowlers that a big job still remained to contain the highly-talented Australian batting line-up.

Australia, after 15 overs were 52 for one wicket. Belinda Clark was 26 not out off 53 balls while Karen Rolton was 15 not out from 19 balls.

New Zealand tried some new initiatives in their bid to upset the Australian batting rhythm.

New Zealand's first ploy was to have teenaged left-arm spinner Rebecca Steele bowling the second over in a bid to break up the Australian batting. Belinda Clark realised the requirement immediately and was quick to get down the track to nullify the threat of any spin.

When Clark reached three, with a single clipped behind point off Steele, she became only the second player to score 4000 runs in One-Day Internationals.

Steele was unperturbed by her task and when Clark hit a ball through mid-wicket for the first boundary of the innings, in the eighth over, Steele stood firm and had her reward when Lisa Sthalekar attempted to cut a ball wide of off stump only to catch the edge of her bat on the ball and Rebecca Rolls held the catch.

Sthalekar scored eight and Australia were 25 for one wicket.

Karen Rolton got underway with two swept from Steele but then found a ball spitting at here from the last ball of the over.

Nicola Browne ended her first spell of five overs with 16 runs and only one wide against her name.

Rolton was soon demonstrating her fearsome power when down the track and straight driving a ball from Steele for four. In the next over a pull shot from Kate Pulford raced to the boundary for four more.

With memories of the loss to New Zealand in the final of the CricInfo Women's World Cup in 2000, Australia were leaving no stone unturned in their bid to dominate. Captain Belinda Clark chose to bat first on a surface that is expected to take more spin as the game develops.

New Zealand's spin attack has been one of its genuine attacking strengths in the tournament and Clark was obviously mindful of its potential if she batted second.

By scoring a big total, Australia will be able to seriously test the New Zealanders who have not batted to their potential in this tournament.

They have picked up New Zealand's key batsmen Rebecca Rolls and Emily Drumm cheaply in both their preliminary matches and will be looking to do that again today.

Conditions for the match are perfect with temperatures expected to rise during the day. Nor-west winds are expected later in the day.

The teams are:

New Zealand: Emily Drumm, Rebecca Rolls, Nicola Payne, Maia Lewis, Haidee Tiffen, Kate Pulford, Aimee Mason, Sara McGlashan, Nicola Browne, Frances King, Rebecca Steele. (12th man - Sarah Burke).

Australia: Belinda Clark (captain), Lisa Sthalekar, Karen Rolton, Melanie Jones, Michell Goszko, Alex Blackwell, Julie Hayes, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Julia Price, Clea Smith, Emma Twining. (12th man - Kris Britt).

The umpires are: Tony Hill and Gary Baxter.