There were few positives for skipper Steve Smith to grasp at after Australia opened their New Zealand tour with a shocking ODI loss.
But a fightback with the ball was one.
NZ posted a total of 8-307 at Eden Park on Wednesday after being asked to bat first by Smith.
It was a big total but could have been a whole lot bigger after an incredible opening partnership between Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum.
The pair lifted NZ to 0-79 in the 11th over before Australia slowly but surely started to trim the hosts' run-rate.
"New Zealand started very well with the bat ... we pulled it back quite nicely taking wickets through the middle," Smith said.
"I was pleased with the way we were able to pull it back in the middle.
"Restricting them to just over 300 ... I thought that was about par."
McCullum and Guptill hammered Josh Hazlewood, Kane Richardson and John Hastings in an early onslaught.
To be fair to the trio,many of the 14 boundaries struck in NZ's opening partnership wouldn't have been fours on other grounds.
"I didn't think we bowled too bad at the start. They played some pretty good shots and got away with a few," Smith said.
Hazlewood returned to lead the attack, having been rested since January 12.
However, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Pat Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile were unavailable for the ODI tour because of injuries.
"It'd be great to have all the guys available who bowl 150km/h but injuries happen in this sport," Smith said.
"The bowlers that have been playing have done a terrific job this summer, 4-1 (in the ODI series) against a very good Indian side.
"It's a big learning curve for a lot of the younger guys.
"They're quite inexperienced and coming up against ... Guptill and McCullum when they're up and going is very tough.
"We're going to have to find ways to be successful against them. I think it's a great learning curve for our bowlers."
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