Cricketing great Martin Crowe wants to see one thing only at Eden Park - a contest (preferably with a New Zealand win).

Michael Clarke and Brendon McCullum have been busy playing down significance of today's sold out clash.

Dan Vettori has a long history with Australia - he's been playing them in One Day Internationals since 1997.

Former Australian captain says Black Caps are favourites to win tomorrow, saying "It will be a parochial home crowd in Auckland. It's very difficult place to play and win over there."

Andrew Alderson on who is better: Brendon McCullum or Michael Clarke?

There's a storm cloud gathering over Eden Park, and we're not just talking about the horrible prospect of rain on Saturday.

It took six words for Black Caps coach Mike Hesson to yesterday disarm the argument about the threat of Australia's muscular fast bowling battery.

The last time mighty Australia rolled into Auckland for a Cricket World Cup match, just over 23 years ago, they left with their tails between their legs.

If it's not rugby and the All Blacks aren't winning by 17 points with 11 minutes to go, you'll be hard-pressed to hear a New Zealand crowd using their epithelium vocal folds to support their team.

As Auckland welcomes the Black Caps ahead of crunch match with Australia, Captain Brendon McCullum jokes he can't escape the World Cup, even on his days off.

Modern-day sledging is utterly charmless, simply not funny or clever any more, and is just verbal assault.

Ahead of this Saturday's Black Caps v Australia fixture at Eden Park, we look back on three of the more infamous moments from previous clashes between the sides.

Eden Park's crowd has received an open invitation to get rough with the verbals at Australia's players in Saturday's World Cup showdown.

Whichever pairing comes out on top on Saturday at Eden Park will have gone a long way towards setting their side up for victory.

Brendon McCullum's lethal ambush of the England bowlers at the Cake Tin the other day will no doubt have got the attention of the numerous coaching entourages, Tony Blain writes

In the wake of England's humiliating defeat, exiled batsmen Kevin Pietersen posted a timely video of himself enjoying a holiday in Barbados.

Brendon McCullum's men won the game with 226 balls to spare. Predictably, the English media have got the knives out. Here's a sample of what's being said back in the Old Country.

New Zealand have put together arguably their most uncompromising display in a World Cup match against a test-playing nation, demolishing England by eight wickets with, and this is not a misprint, 37.4 overs to spare.

No one hates an England defeat more than the English media. And as you'd expect, the backlash was quick and it was fierce.