Led by captain Sophie Devine's sparkling 161 off 117 deliveries, New Zealand has pulled off a staggering run chase to topple Australia by nine wickets and boost the hosts' morale heading into the Women's Cricket World Cup.
Just two days after losing to world number eight Pakistan, the White Ferns easily hauled in Australia's 321 in Lincoln in their warm-up match on Tuesday.
Devine put on a masterclass, plundering boundaries off eight Australian bowlers. She hit the winning runs for a superb New Zealand victory with 41 balls left.
"She definitely had a day out … probably could have got 200 to be fair. She still had seven overs," Australia vice-captain Rachael Haynes said.
There was plenty to like in Australia's batting, with captain Meg Lanning (87 off 86 balls) finding form and Alyssa Healy (64 off 71), Beth Mooney (55 off 51) and Ashleigh Gardner (60 off 32) also making half-centuries.
But the Australian bowling attack was found wanting in an alarming sign just four days from their tournament opener with reigning champions England.
The New Zealand-Australia match was an unofficial fixture, with both sides naming more than the allowed XI to give more of their squad a taste of conditions leading into the World Cup.
If the ICC accepted the scorecard, New Zealand would have completed the greatest ODI run chase of all time — and against the world's number one side.
Devine shared a 119-run opening stand before Suzie Bates (63) holed out to Grace Harris off Alana King's leg spin.
That would be Australia's only wicket, with Amelia Kerr (92 off 75) then combining with her Devine to put on 206 off 141 deliveries.
Earlier, Lanning regained her scoring touch after a failure in Australia's first warm-up match on Sunday against West Indies.
"She's been building towards it," Haynes said.
"She batted beautifully today and got a little tap on the shoulder because she was going to be retired but I think she could have batted all day."
Lanning began as a support act to Healy in a superb start to the innings.
Healy flicked the switch off Kerr's bowling, striking consecutive boundaries in one over, then hitting a six over long on and a boundary to mid-wicket to reach her half-century.
Lanning offered chances as she accelerated in her innings. Both Devine and Bates put her down before Hannah Rowe caught her off the spin of Frankie Mackay.
Gardner helped speed up Australia's run rate, bashing four sixes and six fours during her innings
Rowe was the pick of New Zealand's bowlers, finishing with 4-49 off 10 overs, before the top-order White Ferns trio got the job done.
The White Ferns face West Indies on Friday in the tournament opener.
AAP
