Cricket News

Australia's pace phalanx left nothing to the vagaries of the surface, firing balls full, fast and straight to deliver Australia a seven-wicket win and its fifth World Cup in comprehensive fashion

Ignore the stats, remember the stats and, if all else fails, offer a sacrifice to the gods

New Zealand are unbeaten in this World Cup, but Australia's record at the MCG is strong: they have won 24 of their last 26 matches there

Ricky Ponting believes Australia are overwhelming favourites but added that if New Zealand manage to stick to their script in the World Cup so far, "anything can happen"

Clever as New Zealand's fans have been in lampooning questions about the size of the MCG with the tag #MCGsobig, it is difficult to find anyone who does not think the ground's vast dimensions will make a difference to the World Cup final on Sunday

The MCG's drop-in pitch might be unfamiliar to some of the New Zealand bowlers and the vast expanses of outfield can be harder to protect, but Tim Southee is confident the attack will be able to transfer their success across the Tasman. up final

After a flawless run at home, New Zealand have travelled to Melbourne for the World Cup final. This last challenge - against co-hosts Australia - will be their greatest

Matt Henry was savouring every moment of his last-minute World Cup call-up as New Zealand enjoyed a day off in Melbourne before beginning preparations for the final

Jesse Ryder has been suspended from Otago's final game in the Plunket Shield after he admitted to a breach of New Zealand Cricket's Code of Conduct

Daniel Vettori has not made any official announcements on his future, but a career in coaching in the IPL, where he has already started with Royal Challengers Bangalore, and the Big Bash looms

Grant Elliott was not among the 20 who tried to absorb the venue of the World Cup final in October in the hope they would return, but he is the man taking them back

Even as Grant Elliott's inclusion in the World Cup squad in place of Jimmy Neesham was questioned early on, right now the decision is looking a master stroke

Describing New Zealand's run to their first ever World Cup final as an "incredible ride," Brendon McCullum has said his players are having the best time of their lives

South Africa wept. Together, separately, on camera, off camera, with 40,000 people chanting or in the complete silence inside themselves, they wept. They wept because that was all they had left to do.

Colin Munro set a new world record when he struck 23 sixes in a first-class innings as he celebrated New Zealand's qualification for the World Cup final in a rampant innings for Auckland against Central Districts

Amid scenes of rare passion, of the like New Zealand has never seen for a cricket match, Grant Elliott played the innings of his life to carry his adopted country into the World Cup final against the land of his birth

Before AB de Villiers and Brendon McCullum attempt to bat their opposition away, literally, before they have to set a field or decide on a bowling change, even before they toss the coin, they will have to perform another, and perhaps more important job

Both New Zealand and South Africa are no strangers to World Cup semi-finals, but neither has ever made it through to the biggest game in cricket yet

New Zealand will be without Adam Milne for the rest of their World Cup campaign after the fast bowler suffered a heel injury in the quarter-final win over West Indies

Mike Hesson has called Martin Guptill's unbeaten 237 a "surreal" performance but New Zealand do not have much time to sit back and soak up the acclaim with just a 48-hour turnaround to their semi-final against South Africa at Eden Park