Was it a case of Australia regaining their footing, or was it a case of one man, an impressive man in Michael Bevan at that, getting it right as Australia beat New Zealand in Melbourne?

Bevan's superb innings, and Australia's win with three balls and two wickets to spare, assured that interest in the VB series would be kept alive until the last preliminary game in Perth on Sunday.

Praise for Bevan was the common theme of all trans-Tasman newspaper coverage today.

The Sydney Morning Herald: "Michael Bevan last night saved Australia's reputation and reaffirmed himself as the best one-day batsman in the world with a memorable, fighting century that led Australia to an improbable win over New Zealand at the MCG.

"Bevan's brilliant 102 from 95 balls has kept alive Australia's hopes of gaining a place in the series finals and has given his side its first win over the Kiwis in seven matches, including three Tests, this summer.

"Australia passed New Zealand's 8-245 when fast bowler Andy Bichel crashed the third ball of the 50th over through point for four.

"Bevan rekindled memories of his epic, match-winning 78 not out at the SCG against the West Indies in 1995-96, when he hit a four off the last ball of the match to secure victory. Last night he again played magnificently after coming to the wicket with Australia down and out at 4-53. His innings included seven fours.

"When he lost the assistance of captain Steve Waugh with the score at 65, and all-rounder Ian Harvey at 82, Bevan encouraged a remarkable rearguard action from the tail."

Peter Roebuck, the SMH: "The Kiwis helped by spreading their field earlier and further than the situation demanded. Stephen Fleming is an excellent captain until the match has been won, whereupon he lets matters drift, allows his opponents to score at five or six an over almost unopposed. Moreover, he bowled his spinners and especially Chris Harris too long, though Harris was ruthlessly demolished by the local left-hander. Also, the field was so far-flung that batsmen who were far from the target could score runs without taking risks. The Kiwis made the same mistake in the Perth Test and were saved by a couple of run-outs. This time the catches went down and the dives missed. The Kiwis were handicapped by Chris Cairns's inability to bowl. Still, he had batted well and limped around the field like a wounded colossus. Unable to turn to his leading all-rounder, Fleming retreated and lost his grip.

"Really, the closing stages of the game were a stark contrast with the hours that came before as the Australians were outplayed by a combative outfit."

The Australian: "The oft-repeated promise of Steve Waugh that his team can pull something out of the fire whenever they are feeling the heat proved remarkably prescient again last night.

"But not even the Australian skipper at his most optimistic could have anticipated Michael Bevan's ability to reach into the embers of a near-extinguished innings and haul out an extraordinary victory.

"With Australia needing a win to retain any flickering hope of reaching next week's finals series, they were dead in the water at 6-82 in the 22nd over chasing New Zealand's sizeable total of 245.

"Given Australia had never made that many runs batting second in a one-day international at the MCG, the likelihood of it happening in such a critical match were roughly nil.

"But somebody forgot to tell Bevan, who lived up to his oft-cited status as the world's premier one-day batsman. He lifted Australia past their target with three balls to spare to finish with a memorable 102 not out.

"His partner Andy Bichel hit the winning boundary through point off Shane Bond amid wild celebratory scenes.

"Steve Waugh rated it one of the best one-day innings ever played and ranked Australia's defiant win as among the best he's been involved in along with their 1999 World Cup matches against South Africa at Headingley and Edgbaston."

The Daily Telegraph: "Michael Bevan saved a lot of red faces last night. Even in the Australian Cricket Board's official enclosure the mood was unambiguously glum resignation as their men crashed to 6-82 in pursuit of New Zealand's 245, leaving the ground ahead seemingly unassailable.

"And yet they won, beating the Kiwis for the first time this summer, thanks to Bevan's magnificent unbeaten 102.

"Truly, the game is simply unbelievable sometimes and it proved again how difficult it can be to distinguish between heroes and humans.

"Long before the electrifying finish, the modest crowd of only about 40,000 probably thought they had seen just about the last of Mark Waugh in one-day cricket when he was out for 21. Now, we shall see.

"And Shane Warne bounced back from one of the most humiliating moments of his career to pick up the bat and help launch a fightback that might yet be the saviour of a potentially disastrous campaign."

The New Zealand Herald: "New Zealand's tri-series bid continued to unravel early today after they ended up on the wrong side of a last-over thriller against Australia.

"Having set their hosts a winning target of 246, New Zealand seemed on the verge of another big win when Australia collapsed to 82 for six in the 22nd over.

"However, in a finish which demonstrated among other things Australia's utter desperation to stay alive in the series, Michael Bevan conjured up a match-winning innings of 102 and added a new twist to the series.

"Needing more than seven an over for most of the second half of the chase, Bevan initially teamed with Shane Warne in a 61-run stand for the seventh wicket, and then added 81 off 66 balls with Brett Lee for the eighth to give his side hope.

"The pair whittled away at the total from the 37-over mark, taking advantage of some strangely tentative field placings, until just 16 were needed off the last two overs.

"Bevan and Andy Bichel took 10 off the 49th, bowled by Andre Adams, and then sent the 40,000 MCG crowd into raptures when they gleefully took the remaining six runs off the first three balls of the last - bowled by Shane Bond.

"The loss means New Zealand are still in danger of missing out on a place in the finals, and keeps alive Australia's hopes of staging an 11th-hour comeback to qualify, having only missed out on the showpiece twice since the inaugural tournament in 1979-80.

"The result was all the more galling for the New Zealanders because they always seemed to have the game under control, and probably could have finished the Australians off if they had taken advantage of their strong early position and attacked more.

"Instead, skipper Stephen Fleming employed deep fields and waited for Bevan and company to make a mistake, a ploy which only allowed the uprising to take a stronger hold."

The New Zealand Press Association: "New Zealand's finals prospects lay in the balance after Australia snatched a stunning two-wicket win in their tri-series one-day cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last night.

"An unbeaten 102 from Michael Bevan saw the home side to a remarkable victory after they appeared doomed to their fourth loss from four against the Black Caps.

"A fantastic batting effort over the final 20 overs saw the Australians reach 248 for eight with three balls remaining, passing the New Zealanders' 245 for eight and giving them their first trans-Tasman victory of the summer.

"Australia joined South Africa on 13 points while New Zealand still lead the competition with 17.

"However, to assure themselves of a place in the finals, the Black Caps must now beat South Africa in their final preliminary game at the WACA in Perth on Friday. If they lose that match they may miss the finals if Australia defeat the Proteas on the same ground two days later.

"All four teams would then have had four wins but New Zealand could be third - if they have the least number of bonus points or the lowest net run rate."

© CricInfo