Aussie Michael Clarke (in yellow) and Brendon McCullum shake hands and pose with the trophy on the eve of World Cup 2015 final.
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Australia and New Zealand have co-hosted the 2015 Cricket World Cup. They have dominated it on the field. And on Sunday, they will go head-to-head to determine who will be the world champion in cricket's greatest arena, the 100,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground. (Must read: Michael Clarke to quit ODIs after World Cup final )
New Zealand is unbeaten, while Australia has lost only once - to New Zealand, by a single wicket in a cliffhanger finish. That match was played on New Zealand's home turf, in Auckland. On Sunday, Australia will have the home-field advantage. (Aussies, Kiwis ready to battle)
"We have played a fair bit at the MCG this summer, so that will help us," Australia's captain, Michael Clarke, said after his team beat India, the 2011 champion, Thursday to advance to the final. "It is very different to what New Zealand are used to, but we know that we will have to play at our very best to beat them."
They are neighbors separated by two time zones and 1,500 miles of sea, but they have much in common.
"There is a great mutual respect between both teams," Clarke said Thursday. "Australia and New Zealand on and off the cricket field have a wonderful relationship."
Much of that shared heritage is in sports. They are used to contesting world titles. They have played each other in the last four World Netball Cup tournaments and the last three Rugby League World Cup tournaments. Between them, they have appeared in six of seven Rugby Union World Cup finals, but never head-to-head.
The two cricket teams are well matched. They have had the best bowling in a tournament filled with high-scoring batsmanship, and each is led by a left-arm fast bowler.
New Zealand's Trent Boult is the leading wicket taker in the World Cup, with 21. Second is Australia's Mitchell Starc, who has 20 wickets, despite having played one fewer match.
Each team has been inspired by a veteran closing in on the end of his career, although neither has officially announced his retirement.
For New Zealand, it was former captain Daniel Vettori, 36, who stepped up in Tuesday's tense semifinal victory over South Africa.
Recalled after having played little international cricket in the past three years, Vettori was batting at the end when another veteran, Grant Elliott, who is also 36, struck the final two over-boundaries that won the game.
New Zealand's captain, Brendon McCullum, said the victory over South Africa had been Vettori's "last game on New Zealand soil."
"To be out there at the end and be as instrumental and calm as he was under pressure, I couldn't think of two better blokes to have out at that wily old age of 36," McCullum said after the match. "You can't buy that sort of experience."
"Dan loves the game and knows the history of the game," New Zealand coach Mike Hesson told reporters. "He's a huge part of this team. Since he's come back in, he's added a lot of calmness to the dressing room."
For Australia, Clarke has provided veteran leadership after missing the beginning of the tournament because of a chronic back injury. He intends to lead Australia in its Ashes test tour of England this year, but he is expected to end his career in one-day international competition after Sunday.
To win, Clarke will have to outthink McCullum, his main rival as the smartest captain in cricket. The New Zealander has won praise from a compatriot who knows all about winning World Cups: Graham Henry, who coached New Zealand's All Blacks team to a title on home soil at the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup.
"He has been an outstanding captain with inner confidence," Henry, who once played first-class cricket, told Newstalk ZB, a radio station in New Zealand. "He leads from the front and the guys love him; you can see that. They've done everything superbly. I just think they need to embrace the occasion and enjoy the occasion."
Australia has the confidence that comes with being a four-time former champion. New Zealand has the pressure of chasing its first trophy, which would be its biggest achievement in cricket, but it knows it can beat Australia, thanks to an earlier win in the group stage.
"I think New Zealand will take confidence that they've beaten us in the tournament, but I believe that was the turning point in this tournament for the Australian team," Clarke said Thursday. "We knew we got a good look at a very good team playing at the top of their game, certainly with the ball, and I think our attitude from that day has been exceptional."
© 2015 New York Times News Service
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