Herald on Sunday Editorial: Beating Oz would be oh so sweet

Tim Southee said he wanted to play the Australians. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

In the immediate aftermath of New Zealand's thrilling Cricket World Cup semifinal victory over the Proteas, various members of the Black Caps' team and management were asked whether they wanted to play Australia or India in today's final.

Most resorted to the customary sentiments voiced in such circumstances. The team, they said, had no preference and either country would be a worthy opponent.

But Tim Southee was not going to be captive to such niceties. Without hesitation, he said he wanted to play the Australians.

Many New Zealanders would have been taken aback. India, after all, was the weaker team. But Southee was absolutely right. Australia is the perfect opponent. Nothing could be sweeter than beating them in their own backyard at the imposing Melbourne Cricket Ground. Defeating India would not have been the same. The sporting rivalry with that country is simply nowhere as intense or enduring as that with Australia.

There will always be heaps of spice in encounters between the two countries. If more is needed, it is supplied by the place. The MCG was, of course, the venue of Trevor Chappell's notorious under-arm delivery. And the feeling of being cheated is not restricted to that one-day encounter in 1981.

Six years later at the same ground, New Zealand was denied a test victory only by the outrageous umpiring of Australian Dick French. In that same match, Australian wicketkeeper Greg Dyer claimed a catch that was patently never going to dismiss Andrew Jones.

That trio of incidents represents just a smidgen of the history and tradition that motivated Southee to nominate Australia.

And the desire to get one over it for New Zealand to claim its first Cricket World Cup is a product not only of sport. Pavlova, Phar Lap, Crowded House, the list of things purloined by Australia without so much as a shred of substance goes on and on.

A lack of substance will never be associated with the Black Caps. Their run has thrilled a nation and captivated much of the cricket world. New Zealanders who had no more than a slight interest in the game are now passionate fans.

Brendon McCullum's team deserves nothing less, given its aggressive and entertaining brand of cricket. Whisper it only, but that style owes a certain amount to many of the great Australian teams down the years.

They, too, never lacked confidence or self-belief. But they also went way over the top in sledging opponents. That is one more reason why victory today at the MCG would be so satisfying. It would be achieved with style and a smile, not snarling.

Go the Black Caps.

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