For this New Zealand team, it cannot get any bigger – unless it wins the World Cup, of course. Generations upon generations of Kiwi teams have tried to reach this stage. All have failed at the penultimate hurdle. Only this team has broken through. McCullum’s men, widely considered among the best NZ teams in history, have done something which none of their countrymen have done before.
Previously, just reaching the semi-finals was considered an achievement for New Zealand. The usual descriptions used for them were “plucky” and “punching about their weight”, but never “world-class”. This team, though, has shown its disdain for such adjectives. Brendan McCullum has brought hunger and intensity to this team, capturing the spirit of the entire cricketing world. On Sunday they will look to go one step further and gain a maiden World Cup title.
On the other end of the ring are their traditional rivals, their big brothers from across the Tasman Sea: Australia. If New Zealand have never played a World Cup final before, Australia will play their seventh. More importantly, they’ve only lost two of those finals: one where they got on the wrong end of a Clive Lloyd stunner in 1975 and one where they ran into a magician called Aravinda De Silva in 1996.
But, make no mistake, things seem heavily stacked in favour of Australia. The experience of playing and winning major finals in the past is priceless. But more importantly, this will be New Zealand’s first game in Australia after a long campaign at home; adapting to such vastly different conditions is not going to be easy for McCullum and his men.
How Australia will approach the final
The old-fashioned Australian way has worked countless times for them in the past. It’s plain and simple – come hard at the opposition and come fast. Australia will back themselves and will be cockily confident about their strengths. For starters, New Zealand will find it difficult to adjust to Australian conditions, which favour bounce over swing. Australia will attack relentlessly and will know at the back of their minds that New Zealand will be more affected than them by the pressure of a final.
They will take heart in their team, which has not just relied on individual brilliance. Steven Smith scored a wonderful hundred against India, but his dismissal could easily have sparked off a collapse. That didn’t happen though; Maxwell, Warner and Johnson all chipped in to convert a difficult target into an improbable one.
The bowling attack has performed as a unit: Starc, obviously, has been the standout performer, but Hazlewood has also been very good. Johnson looked close to his menacing best against India, something what will please Australia even more. Faulkner almost took a hat-trick against India and even Maxwell proved difficult to get away.
Strategy: Probably the same tactics as in the match against India. They might have collapsed against New Zealand in their match in the group stage, but they will back themselves to prevent a repeat. The key will be to back Warner to go out and do what he does, comforted by the belief that on the off-chance that Warner fails, Australia have enough arsenal in the middle-order to make up for it.
World Cup finals are cauldrons of pressure and Australia will be aware that a target of even 260-plus will be difficult for a team to chase. If Australia bat first and can score over 250, New Zealand will find it very difficult to score quickly against Starc, Johnson and Hazlewood.
Strengths: That explosive batting order, which doesn’t look as if it can do anything wrong. The bowling, which is currently purring along like a Rolls-Royce. But, finally Australia’s greatest strength is their attitude to big games: they’ll fight till the last ball and not give away a quarter.
Weaknesses: Difficult to find any weaknesses, but Australia will hope that Finch gets back to his usual explosive self. This is probably Michael Clarke’s last World Cup and he will want to shrug off a run of low scores and score a big one.
How New Zealand will approach the final
Any team other than New Zealand would have approached the final with a mixture of caution and aggression. But that’s not the McCullum way. That’s not this New Zealand team’s way. And you can be confident that New Zealand will come out just as aggressively, if not even more aggressively, in the final.
Despite the match being played in Australia, New Zealand will look to replicate the same game which has got them this far. The MCG square may not be as helpful as Wellington or Auckland, but Boult and Southee would still be confident in their abilities to extract juice from the pitch. Vettori is also critical for New Zealand; in their group match, he came in at a time where Australia were cruising and applied the squeeze on Australia. His bowling average against Australia is not the best at 40, but his almost two-decade-long experience will come in handy.
Strategy: Against South Africa, New Zealand kept their calm, stayed in the game till the end, and squeezed out a win in the dying moments. South Africa are notorious for collapsing under pressure and that’s exactly what happened. Australia, however, are a completely different kettle of fish. New Zealand should look to go hammer and tongs against Australia right from the outset and look to dominate. Like classic Australian teams of yore. If you give this Australian side even a glimpse of the light, they’ll be all over you before you even realise it.
Strengths: Boult’s bowling is a definite strength along with Vettori’s canny bowling and experience. McCullum has been the standout opener in this tournament, providing thunderous starts in almost every innings. Will the biggest stage of his career spur him on to play the innings that will cement him right at the top of Kiwi cricket history?
Weaknesses: Ross Taylor’s recent form is a definite worry for the Kiwis. Taylor has looked a shadow of his usual commandeering self. On the bowling side of things, Southee has tailed off a bit after that 7- wicket haul against England. Another bad day for him could put added pressure on Boult.
The X factor: How New Zealand adapt to Australian conditions. If they can change their game to adjust to the bigger Australian grounds while still keeping their aggressive brand of cricket alive, New Zealand have a strong chance. Otherwise, Australia will fancy themselves to put it over their Trans-Tasman rivals.
The obvious prediction: An Australian victory. New Zealand will put up a fight but Australia’s self-belief and experience in World Cup finals should get them through. The romantic in all of us, however, will cheer for a Kiwi victory.
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Previously, just reaching the semi-finals was considered an achievement for New Zealand. The usual descriptions used for them were “plucky” and “punching about their weight”, but never “world-class”. This team, though, has shown its disdain for such adjectives. Brendan McCullum has brought hunger and intensity to this team, capturing the spirit of the entire cricketing world. On Sunday they will look to go one step further and gain a maiden World Cup title.
On the other end of the ring are their traditional rivals, their big brothers from across the Tasman Sea: Australia. If New Zealand have never played a World Cup final before, Australia will play their seventh. More importantly, they’ve only lost two of those finals: one where they got on the wrong end of a Clive Lloyd stunner in 1975 and one where they ran into a magician called Aravinda De Silva in 1996.
But, make no mistake, things seem heavily stacked in favour of Australia. The experience of playing and winning major finals in the past is priceless. But more importantly, this will be New Zealand’s first game in Australia after a long campaign at home; adapting to such vastly different conditions is not going to be easy for McCullum and his men.
How Australia will approach the final
The old-fashioned Australian way has worked countless times for them in the past. It’s plain and simple – come hard at the opposition and come fast. Australia will back themselves and will be cockily confident about their strengths. For starters, New Zealand will find it difficult to adjust to Australian conditions, which favour bounce over swing. Australia will attack relentlessly and will know at the back of their minds that New Zealand will be more affected than them by the pressure of a final.
They will take heart in their team, which has not just relied on individual brilliance. Steven Smith scored a wonderful hundred against India, but his dismissal could easily have sparked off a collapse. That didn’t happen though; Maxwell, Warner and Johnson all chipped in to convert a difficult target into an improbable one.
The bowling attack has performed as a unit: Starc, obviously, has been the standout performer, but Hazlewood has also been very good. Johnson looked close to his menacing best against India, something what will please Australia even more. Faulkner almost took a hat-trick against India and even Maxwell proved difficult to get away.
Strategy: Probably the same tactics as in the match against India. They might have collapsed against New Zealand in their match in the group stage, but they will back themselves to prevent a repeat. The key will be to back Warner to go out and do what he does, comforted by the belief that on the off-chance that Warner fails, Australia have enough arsenal in the middle-order to make up for it.
World Cup finals are cauldrons of pressure and Australia will be aware that a target of even 260-plus will be difficult for a team to chase. If Australia bat first and can score over 250, New Zealand will find it very difficult to score quickly against Starc, Johnson and Hazlewood.
Strengths: That explosive batting order, which doesn’t look as if it can do anything wrong. The bowling, which is currently purring along like a Rolls-Royce. But, finally Australia’s greatest strength is their attitude to big games: they’ll fight till the last ball and not give away a quarter.
Weaknesses: Difficult to find any weaknesses, but Australia will hope that Finch gets back to his usual explosive self. This is probably Michael Clarke’s last World Cup and he will want to shrug off a run of low scores and score a big one.
How New Zealand will approach the final
Any team other than New Zealand would have approached the final with a mixture of caution and aggression. But that’s not the McCullum way. That’s not this New Zealand team’s way. And you can be confident that New Zealand will come out just as aggressively, if not even more aggressively, in the final.
Despite the match being played in Australia, New Zealand will look to replicate the same game which has got them this far. The MCG square may not be as helpful as Wellington or Auckland, but Boult and Southee would still be confident in their abilities to extract juice from the pitch. Vettori is also critical for New Zealand; in their group match, he came in at a time where Australia were cruising and applied the squeeze on Australia. His bowling average against Australia is not the best at 40, but his almost two-decade-long experience will come in handy.
Strategy: Against South Africa, New Zealand kept their calm, stayed in the game till the end, and squeezed out a win in the dying moments. South Africa are notorious for collapsing under pressure and that’s exactly what happened. Australia, however, are a completely different kettle of fish. New Zealand should look to go hammer and tongs against Australia right from the outset and look to dominate. Like classic Australian teams of yore. If you give this Australian side even a glimpse of the light, they’ll be all over you before you even realise it.
Strengths: Boult’s bowling is a definite strength along with Vettori’s canny bowling and experience. McCullum has been the standout opener in this tournament, providing thunderous starts in almost every innings. Will the biggest stage of his career spur him on to play the innings that will cement him right at the top of Kiwi cricket history?
Weaknesses: Ross Taylor’s recent form is a definite worry for the Kiwis. Taylor has looked a shadow of his usual commandeering self. On the bowling side of things, Southee has tailed off a bit after that 7- wicket haul against England. Another bad day for him could put added pressure on Boult.
The X factor: How New Zealand adapt to Australian conditions. If they can change their game to adjust to the bigger Australian grounds while still keeping their aggressive brand of cricket alive, New Zealand have a strong chance. Otherwise, Australia will fancy themselves to put it over their Trans-Tasman rivals.
The obvious prediction: An Australian victory. New Zealand will put up a fight but Australia’s self-belief and experience in World Cup finals should get them through. The romantic in all of us, however, will cheer for a Kiwi victory.