Australian stand-in skipper Mike Hussey asked the national selectors not to panic after the string of defeats ahead of their World Cup title defence and show trust in the team to fight its way back to the top.
Australia slumped to their second consecutive one-day defeat against New Zealand -- their fourth loss in as many ODIs -- which knocked the world champions from the top spot in one-day rankings for the first time since the listings began in 2002.
"It certainly hurts. We pride ourselves on being the No.1 team in the world and we pride ourselves on trying to get better to keep the gap between one and two higher" Hussey was quoted as saying in The Australian.
"We can't afford to panic. We can't afford to start making wholesale changes or anything like that. We have got to trust our personnel. We have got to trust our own games, trust each other, and keep backing each other. I know if we keep working hard, we'll be fine," he added.
Hussey admitted Australia is having problems containing teams when bowling second. In little more than a year, Australia has gained the highly dubious record of having the one-day game's three greatest run-chases made against it.
"I know big totals being chased down is an area of concern and we are going to have to get better at it, but I think we have got the right people in the team and in the squad," Hussey said.
Australia's score of 336 for 4 was chased down by New Zealand with an over to spare at Auckland on Sunday.
