 Fleming was among the early casualties as New Zealand slumped |
Captain Stephen Fleming says New Zealand need to find batsmen who can deal with a swinging new ball. The Kiwis slumped to 35-6 in reply to Australia's 240-9 before Daniel Vettori (79) led them to a respectable 206 in their Champions Trophy semi-final.
"You can see the quality of guys we are developing down the order but the top's a concern and has been all tournament.
"We weren't able to deal with the ball that swung. Our top-order batting has been exposed throughout," he said.
"We knew the first 15 overs would be difficult but our batting was very poor. We must develop batsmen who can face the heat with the new ball."
Vettori and Jacob Oram put on 103 for the seventh wicket to help New Zealand avoid complete embarrassment.
The Kiwis managed to better their lowest ever ODI score of 64 but Fleming saw it as scant consolation.
"Fighting is good but you have to be more skilled and that is what we lacked at the top," he added.
"Dan and Jacob showed that by staying in you could make an opportunity but to beat Australia you have to have your backyard completely in order."
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