All the way from Cleckheaton I can hear it. The sound of a nation's growing hope and expectation.
And after the Black Caps' Usain Bolt-like charge out of the blocks at Hagley Park, all the chat around the happy taps across Aotearoa understandably will be about who the Kiwis might meet in the final. Will it be the swaggering, uber confident Aussies with their Romper Stomper mentality? Could it be the "On-a-Mission from God" South Africans, led by their mercurial talisman AB de Villiers? Or perhaps some of the currently dormant chemical mixtures within one of the usually volatile sub-continent sides will finally ignite and provide fireworks at the MCG on March 29. Whichever is the case, there's a justifiable buzz coming from Kiwi supporters believing the modern cricketing crown of crowns could be raised aloft by Bazza Mac's tattooed guns next month at the Gee.
Of course, as any savvy poultry farmer will tell you, one must always be mindful of statistical over confidence in stock numbers prior to cyclical events. That said, I too am loving the way the Black Caps are rolling. So much so in fact that I will confidently predict that should they make it that far, whoever the mighty Caps Noir meet at The Gee on that nervy Sunday, they might possibly beat, if things go their way. Sorry if that's not as confident a prediction as you were hoping for but I'm trying not to put too much pressure on The Lads.
