Measured self-review for Smith's Aussies

With an ODI success rate of around 80 per cent over the past year, which included a World Cup win and series victories against heavyweight rivals England and India, Australia’s stinging loss to New Zealand yesterday does not see them reaching for the emergency lever quite yet.

But as seamer John Hastings confirmed today, the 159-run defeat at the hands of the Black Caps in Auckland prompted a bout of soul-searching in the dressing room post-match with the efforts of batters and bowlers under equal scrutiny.

Quick Single: Lehmann returns from medical lay-off

The loss was the heftiest (in terms of runs) since a team led by Adam Gilchrist (in Ricky Ponting’s absence) was knocked over for 93 and succumbed by 196 runs to South Africa in Cape Town a decade ago.

As a consequence, the reigning world champions face a stern challenge and must win the final two matches of this Chappell-Hadlee Trophy Series in Wellington (Saturday) and Hamilton (Monday) to avoid their first ODI series loss since they finished runner-up to the Proteas in the 2014 triangular series in Zimbabwe.

Watch: Across the Ditch: Calamitous collapse

Hastings, who was Australia’s best-performed bowler at Eden Park with a 10-over return of 1-39 as the Black Caps plundered 8-307, confirmed today that captain Steve Smith had led a thorough debrief immediately after the game’s premature ending.

But while the scope of his team’s loss was sobering – it was the first time in 45 years of 50-over internationals that Australia has been bowled out before reaching the halfway point of their innings – Smith’s message was measured and supportive.

Quick Single: Bailey: I told Warner to review

“It was mainly player-led, the coaches sort of took a back seat,” Hastings said of the post-mortem after the Australians landed in Wellington to prepare for Saturday’s match at Wellington Regional Stadium.

“Steve (Smith) just said we need to improve in a number of areas.

“In the field we were a little bit sloppy, so if we can tidy that up – look a bit more energetic out there.

“And obviously not losing clumps of wickets at the start, that's a pretty big key as well.

“They were some of the sorts of things he talked about, but it was really about just putting that one to bed, coming out and playing as best we can in the next couple (of matches).

“He (Smith) was good, he was fairly measured.

“He made it very clear we won a World Cup a year ago, so we still are a very, very good cricket team and we just beat India 4-1 (in Australia) as well, so it's definitely not panic stations by any means.

“But we do have to improve.”

Watch: First ODI match wrap

Even though it was the tourists’ top-order batting inadequacies that emerged as the talking point of last night’s loss, Hastings identified the potency of Australia’s new-ball bowlers (himself included) as an issue in urgent need of addressing.

Despite winning last month’s five-match Victoria Bitter ODI Series against India 4-1, Australia’s bowlers struggled to make inroads into India’s top-order batting with their top three (Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli) all averaging 50 or above.

And on Wednesday afternoon in Auckland, Black Caps openers Martin Guptill (90 off 76 balls) and Brendon McCullum (44 off 29) got their team off to a flying start, to be within sight of 200 when Guptill was run out in the 25th over.

Hastings said the Australians’ focus over coming days, and even leading into the subsequent pair of Test matches that will decide which team finishes the year as number one-ranked Test nation, will be more incisive modes of attack against NZ’s top order.

Watch: Faulkner's freakish catch

“We’ve just come off a really tough Indian series, they’re some of the best players in the world and we struggled taking wickets in the first 10 (overs),” he said.

“McCullum and Guptill played really well yesterday and it’s something we’ve got to continue to try to improve that start with the ball, trying to take wickets in those first 10 overs is crucial.

“It can be hard at times, the wickets are getting flatter and the bats are getting bigger.

“I think it’s part and parcel of the modern game.

Quick Single: Aussies 'unsettled' by recent changes: Blewett

“You have to accept as a fast bowler, or as any bowler, that you’re going to get hit for boundaries – more so probably in T20 cricket but that’s floating through into one-day cricket and even Test match cricket.

“So it’s just about taking your medicine and knowing that you just have to run in again and try and bowl your best ball.

“Really, at the end of the day, that is all you can do.”

The startling disparity between the rival teams’ scores yesterday would suggest that New Zealand’s seam bowlers were able to produce menace through the air and from the pitch that their Australia counterparts were unable to summon.

It also helped to heighten perceptions that Australia’s specialist batters are unable to counter conditions in which the ball swings or moves off the seam.

Quick Single: Faulkner ruled out of ODI series

But Hastings claimed there was little of either mitigating circumstance on show at Eden Park yesterday evening, and that Black Caps destroyers Trent Boult (3-38) and Matt Henry (3-41) simply made far better use of the prevailing conditions than the visiting attack.

Which, according to Hastings, had seen the pitch show a bit more pace when the Australians began their run chase under lights whereas it had seemed two-paced and the bounce more tennis-ball like (ie not skidding through off the surface) when NZ batted.

“I think the wicket probably got a bit quicker to be honest, it was a bit 'tennis-bally' at the start,” Hastings said.

“And the way Matt Henry and Trent Boult bowled, they are very good new-ball bowlers and they put it in a good area.

“I don’t think the swinging and seaming got us out.

“Our batters got themselves out in a sense, but credit to them (NZ) – they bowled well.”