Australia left with treacherous path to World Cup final after loss to Kiwis

The failure of Australia's batsmen to combat the swinging ball against New Zealand has left the tournament favourite one false turn away from a nightmare path to the World Cup final.

Australia's clash with Sri Lanka in Sydney on Sunday is suddenly shaping as a crunch match for Michael Clarke's side. A slip up against the 2011 finalists will most likely consign Australia to a third-place finish in pool A, placing them on a collision cause with South Africa in the quarter-finals.

And it gets worse. They would then have to travel across the Tasman again for a semi-showdown with the supercharged Kiwis.
Such a scenario seemed unlikely after Australia slaughtered England on Valentine's Day but the washout against Bangladesh caused by the remnants of Cyclone Marcia, followed by the weekend's defeat, has dramatically changed the landscape.
But victory against Sri Lanka would present a far smoother passage to the March 29 decider at the MCG. That would leave Australia likely to play the West Indies or Pakistan, though a date with Ireland or even Zimbabwe is not out of the question given the tight nature of that group.