Are we witnessing the fall of the Aussie cricket empire? After the surprisingly meek display against England in the Commonwealth Bank triangular series finals last weekend, the Aussies travelled to New Zealand for their final series of ODIs before the World Cup. And in the first of the three-game series, they were taken apart, losing by ten wickets for the first time in more than 600 ODIs.

Sure, there are extenuating circumstances. Skipper Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and the injured Andrew Symonds are missing from the party, and Brett Lee was injured in practice ahead of the game. But in the past, the Aussies have always managed to compensate for loss of key players by bringing in one of the raft of talented cricketers who would walk in to any other side in the world but who have to wait in the wings at Planet Australia.

Cameron White, Brad Hodge, Phil Jacques and Nathan Bracken have all failed in this respect. And with Symonds and Lee now fighting to get fit for the World Cup, and with Shane Warne absent, it could be that Australia have not got enough strength in depth to win the tournament.

Free of the shackles that come with being a member of the squad, Warne is shooting from the hip. He has blamed coach John Buchanan's heavy training regime as the reason that Australia lost the CB finals to England, this on the back of his aside last year that the purpose of the coach is to take the players to and from the ground.

Former skipper Steve Waugh has defended Buchanan, saying you cannot expect a team to win every game. But that is what we have been expecting from Australia, and when  a fairly mediocre team like the Black Caps can turn over the World Champions the way they did in Wellington on Friday, there should be some worry in the Aussie camp.

My take on this is that Australia have underestimated the loss of Symonds. Until the injury to his arm towards the end of the CB series, the Aussies were powering over England and the Kiwis. Since his injury, they have won one and lost five games.

Symonds is a one-day enigma who can turn a game in all three areas, batting bowling and fielding, which is why he is named in the squad for the Caribbean even though he has been advised that playing, even later in the tournament, could cause long-term damage to his arm.

Gilchrist will also be absent from the early games due to paternity leave and his replacement, Brad Haddin, failed in Wellington - one of five victims of Shane Bond. The Aussies might have thought it could not get worse after being skittled out for 148, but they will be more concerned at the ease with which New Zealand's Lee Vincent and Stephen Fleming knocked off the runs to sweep to a surprisingly easy win.

Of course, we have been here before with Australia. In the 1999 World Cup they were dead and buried after two matches but came back to win eight on the trot and take the tournament. This is the mark of a great team, which of course they still are. And don't forget that the World Cup is Glenn McGrath's last tournament before retirement and you can expect something special from the old master.

Is this the beginning of the end of one of the greatest eras of superiority in international cricket? Well, if the Aussies do not come back and win the current series 2-1, the South Africans will  own  the number one ODI ranking spot. For Ponting and Co, this will be tantamount to complete capitulation. It's bubbling up nicely.

So is this the end of Australia's reign of supremacy, or are they just taking a breather? We want to know what you think at Sportingo.