Australia defeats New Zealand for cricket World Cup title

Michael Clarke raised his bat to acknowledge the massive crowd, and nodded to a fallen teammate he credited for inspiring Australia’s run to a fifth World Cup title that culminated with an emphatic win over New Zealand.

Clarke scored 74 and shared a 112-run partnership with Steve Smith (56 not out) as the skipper and the likely future captain spearheaded Australia to the winning target of 184 in the 34th over at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.

It didn’t end absolutely perfectly for Clarke, who also played in the winning team in 2007, when he was bowled by Matt Henry nine runs short of the target in his 245th and last one-day international. But it was close enough. Smith hit the winning runs as Australia reached 186-3 for a seven-wicket victory.

Australia’s left-arm pacemen did the damage early, with Mitchell Starc (2-20), Mitchell Johnson (3-30) and James Faulkner (3-36) combining to dismiss previously unbeaten tournament co-host New Zealand for 183 in 45 overs.

Starc bowled New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum for a duck on the fifth ball, after the Black Caps won the toss and batted in their first away game of the tournament.

The wicket capped an outstanding World Cup for Starc, who was voted player of the tournament for his 22 wickets at an average of 10.18 in an event where bat dominated ball.

He, like Clarke, wore a black arm band featuring the initials PH in memory of former Australia teammate Phillip Hughes, who died after being struck by a ball in a domestic first-class match last November.

“I’ll wear it every game I play for Australia,” said Clarke, who plans to continue as test captain. “It’s been a really tough few months — we’ve played this World Cup with 16 players. Tonight, this is dedicated to our little brother and teammate Phillip Hughes.

“I’m over the moon — what a tournament,” Clarke added. “Time is right for me to walk away from one-day cricket.”

New Zealand captain McCullum said he had no regrets.

“It’s been one hell of a ride for us,” he said. “Right the way through, we played some outstanding cricket, and we ran into an outstanding Australian team today. They’re deserved champions, and Michael Clarke deserved to bow out a World Cup-winning champion.”