Editorial: Black Caps can beat MCG nerves

New Zealand Black Caps bowler Corey Anderson gets the wicket of South African batsman Francois Du Plessis, during the Semi-Final match between New Zealand and South Africa. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Brendon McCullum’s unbeaten team have started a new history chapter for New Zealand cricket.

International commentators have noted that New Zealand embraced the event far more than Australia.

Playing cricket at the cavernous Melbourne Cricket Ground is a daunting prospect. Seating just over 100,000 spectators and by repute the world's largest cricket stadium, it has an intimidating atmosphere. New Zealand teams have a poor record there, and are far from being the only ones to have faltered.

All that, however, is the stuff of history. The Black Caps' appearance tomorrow in the final of the Cricket World Cup at the MCG has the feeling of not only a page being turned but the start of a new book. And its first chapter bears little resemblance to New Zealand cricket as we have known it. That, in itself, is reason for optimism that Brendon McCullum's team are not about to succumb to nerves.

The Black Caps have not been defeated in their run to the final. That bears emphasising. Followers of New Zealand cricket, and the horde of new fans, should be pinching themselves at this amazing performance. Not only that but the team has played with a strong dose of panache, never previously one of the hallmarks of the national team.
If pride and passion have never been in short supply, this is a country whose cricket teams more often than not pondered damage limitation, rather than the destruction of their opponents.

This new character has dazzled the cricketing world while providing the perfect platform for this country's co-hosting of the World Cup. International commentators have noted that New Zealand embraced the event far more than Australia.

This meant large crowds even for pool matches that did not feature the Black Caps. Those crowds have been treated to outstanding cricket on very good pitches, none more so than those who have gone to Eden Park.

Who would not be enraptured watching the Black Caps' nail-biting victory over Australia, Pakistan's upset victory over South Africa, Zimbabwe's unsettling of India, or, most stunningly, New Zealand's semifinal victory over the Proteas?

The Black Caps' aggressive approach has also played a significant role in salvaging the 50-over game. The success of Twenty20 cricket had led many to conclude that the longer limited-overs game had little future. Games such as New Zealand's semifinal victory have occasioned a revising of that view.

Indeed, based on the crowds at this season's domestic Twenty20 games, that format may be in the greater difficulty. The 50-over version has the advantage of being long enough to allow major fluctuations in fortune, a possibility largely alien to Twenty20 cricket.
Not that any of this will be concerning the Black Caps as they prepare for this country's first appearance in a World Cup final.

It has been a long time coming. On six occasions, New Zealand teams have reached the semifinals, only to be caught out by a lack of self-belief. That is not a trait of a unit in which players are encouraged to have confidence in themselves and their teammates. This has laid the foundation for a team that, like all the best ones, seems almost always to find a way to win.

Tomorrow, it faces the ultimate challenge. The Australians are well acquainted with World Cup finals, and have the obvious advantage of playing at a ground they know well. They are the bookmakers' favourite.

This, however, is a Black Caps team that since the start of this astounding World Cup has made a mockery of the odds.