Venue: The Gabba, Brisbane
 Clarke hit nine fours and faced 217 balls in his innings
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Michael Clarke saved Australia from total collapse as they were dismissed for 214 on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand in Brisbane.
Clarke was the last man out, bowled by part-timer Jesse Ryder, after batting for almost five hours to make 98.
Australia were reduced to 23-3 by seamer Tim Southee at the start of play and the youngster finished with 4-63.
New Zealand survived five overs from Brett Lee and Stuart Clark to reach 7-0 in reply at the close.
It was an excellent day for the tourists and another difficult one for Australia, who recently suffered a 2-0 series defeat in India.
It was the lowest first innings by an Australian side at the Gabba since 1990 - and they have played a Test in Brisbane every year since then. The Aussies have not lost a Test at the Queensland ground since 1988.
The hosts left out off-spinner Jason Krejza, who took 12 wickets in the final match of the India series, and opted to rely on recalled Andrew Symonds and Clarke for any slow bowling required in the match.
But it was their batting which was the immediate focus of attention after New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori won the toss and boldly chose to put Australia in.
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BBC Sport's Oliver Brett
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But the 19-year-old, playing in only his third Test, had not finished and picked up the biggest Australian scalp of all when he removed skipper Ricky Ponting for four - caught in the slip cordon off the shoulder of the bat as he tried to defend.
The home side managed to halt the slide temporarily as Clarke and Mike Hussey came together in a stand of 73.
But Hussey fell lbw to Chris Martin for 35 - playing no shot outside off-stump - and the dismissal of Symonds, who was caught behind off Iain O'Brien for 26, sparked another slump.
The O'Brien-McCullum combination also accounted for Watson, who only managed a single, and part-time seamer Ryder then picked up the wicket of Brad Haddin for six.
Brett Lee departed for four, giving Southee his fourth success by edging to the keeper and Vettori's left-arm spin accounted for Mitchell Johnson, who made five.
Only Clarke offered the kind of resistance normally expected from Australia and after reaching fifty off 136 balls, looked well set for his ninth Test century and second against New Zealand.
Number 11 Stuart Clark tried his best to see him to three figures, hanging on for 40 deliveries for an unbeaten 13, but Clarke fell two runs short as Ryder found a way through his defence to bring Australia's innings to an end.
The world's three leading news agencies did not cover day one of the Test due to a dispute with Cricket Australia.
Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press have suspended all coverage of the 2008-09 season.
Their photographers and reporters did not supply material from within the ground. As a result, our picture of Michael Clarke is not from the current match.
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