Cricket World Cup: Black Caps final woes present opportunity for growth

Through the Black Caps' pain, New Zealand Cricket have another opportunity to build the game's profile at junior levels, Martin Guptill seen here. Photo / Photosport

For some of New Zealanders (me included), revisiting the events of Monday morning is a painful experience.

As the dust settled for those of us who stayed up through the night and rode the rollercoaster of emotions that was the Cricket World Cup final, the first day of the working week was either a day of wallowing in self-pity or a lesson in anger suppression.

Any mention of the cricket around the water-cooler was enough to raise your blood pressure as you tried not to focus on the mental replays of Ben Stokes' unintentional six or Martin Guptill's outstretched bat.

But now, we've all had a few days to process our grief and come to terms with the fact that England, the classic tournament chokers, held their nerve in the final moments to close out one of sport's most iconic games.

This was all the emotion Black Caps captain Kane Williamson gave to the cameras after his side's heartbreaking loss to England on Monday. Photo / Photosport

And it should go down in the annals of sporting history. For people who watched the game right through or had it recorded with no knowledge of the result, it really was a rollercoaster with ascendancy swapping hands at least half a dozen times, and that was just in the last eight overs!

In the most unlikely and unexpected circumstances, New Zealand ended up losing and despite controversy surrounding vague rules and potential umpiring blunders, nothing will change the fact that the nation has to wait four more years for another chance at the trophy.

In the hours after we'd lost, I remembered a piece from the NZ Herald's Dylan Cleaver before the tournament, who declared Guptill to be the most important cog in the Black Caps machine if they were to win the World Cup.

It turns out he was very wrong, but ultimately right. Despite Guptill's struggles with the bat in all but one game, other players stood up to put the Black Caps into their second consecutive World Cup final.

Kane Williamson and the bowling department should and have received the plaudits for the team's performances over the tournament. Even though Guptill can be one of the most devastating figures in a game of cricket, he was largely irrelevant to his team's cause.

But in the end, Guptill was the man to come up with those moments in a game where you want your experienced men to stand up. While India still faced a stiff equation, Guptill's run out of MS Dhoni in the semifinal was as clutch as you get.

And when it came to the super over, he could have been the man to save the nation from the heartbreak they inevitably went through as Guptill's bat fell short of the crease as the stumps were broken.

They came so close but the Black Caps will have to wait another four years for their next opportunity. Photo / Photosport

There is little consolation for fans of sport in these circumstances but it has to be noted how cricket can galvanise this country, regardless of your interest in the sport.

It happened over a longer period in the 2015 World Cup and even though the final was a more lacklustre affair as we waited for Australia to take the crown, it emboldened cricket's place in New Zealand's sporting landscape.

The biggest opportunity following on from the World Cup falls to New Zealand Cricket who can take hold of this passion and turn it into participation in our junior grades.

Enough children would have witnessed the Black Caps' latest exploits and might find themselves with a bat or ball in hand this summer if the NZC can push the right buttons.

The Black Caps next take on Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka which starts in the middle of August. It's not a great set of fixtures for cashing in on World Cup success but it will still give the team visibility.

At the end the day, I think we should be proud to be represented by a fine group of guys who have set the standard in terms of behaviour on and off the field, especially in one of the most difficult environments to navigate.

And if you had to put your finger on the greatest tragedy of all, the final probably overshadowed one of the best tennis matches of all time, which is never ideal for a cross-code sports lover.