Well, it wasn't quite as either team would have planned it; but then, playing in England, they probably should have been prepared.
Australia and New Zealand shared a point each after their ICC Champions Trophy 2013 match was abandoned following irritatingly, yet typically, expected rain at Edgbaston.
The Aussies, desperate for a win after their loss to England in their first match, chose to bat first and put up a score of 243 for eight after their 50 overs.
New Zealand would have been pretty confident of chasing down the total -- even if they were precariously placed on 51 for two in 15 overs -- but eventually had to settle for a point after seeing their chances of pushing for a win dashed by the elements.
Australia now face a must-win match against Sri Lanka in their final match of the group stage, while New Zealand have three points with their destiny of sealing a place in the semifinals pretty much in their own hands.
Earlier, Australia were on a steep incline with the 250-run mark at least in sight and they got somewhere near that total thanks to a couple of solid innings along with two handy scores at the end.
Shane Watson, the man who really needs to step up in the absence of Michael Clarke and looked to be in really good form in the first warm-up match, again failed with the ever impressive Mitchell McClenaghan, who would go on to pick up his second straight four-wicket haul, inducing an outside edge in just the second over.
Phil Hughes followed suit soon after, run out by some brilliant work from Martin Guptill as Australia again stared down the barrel following a poor start.
David Warner was not in the team, dropped after a misdemeanour in a bar following the loss to England a few days back, and it was up to stand-in captain George Bailey and Matthew Wade, opening in Warner's stead, to pull Australia back to a position of comfort.
The duo would put on 64 from nearly 16 overs, with Wade curbing his usual aggressive style - which at the end of the day never really works.
The wicketkeeper-batsman crawled to 29 from 57 balls (3x4) before Nathan McCullum trapped him right in front of the wicket.
Bailey and Adam Voges got together and put on another decent partnership - worth 77 in 16 overs - taking Australia past the 150-run mark.
The skipper fell for 55 (91b, 5x4) in the 35th over - castled by Nathan McCullum (two for 46) as Australia looked for a big finish.
With 15 overs, a powerplay and six wickets remaining, it was time to take advantage and push on towards a big score, but the final big-hitting plan never really materialized as New Zealand kept picking up wickets.
Adam Voges played a really good hand, making 71 in just 76 balls, which under the circumstances was a pretty good innings. Mitchell Marsh (22, 24b, 3x4) gave him decent company for the fifth wicket, before both of them lost their wickets in quick succession - both falling to McClenaghan (four for 65).
Glenn Maxwell, the man who made so much news after being bought for $1 million in the IPL in what seems eons ago, then made a quickfire 29 from 22 balls to at least take the score to 243, scoring the bulk of the 37 runs taken in the final five overs.
