London to Melbourne...for the weekend

To support his team during the World Cup final, a New Zealand fan has decided to embark on a journey so long in terms of distance, yet so short in terms of time, that it will surely inspire a whole new generation of cricket followers. Peter Thompson of London has his trans-continental jaunt all neatly planned out: finish work on Friday, get on the plane to Melbourne, see McCullum's men lift the trophy hopefully, and be back at work on Tuesday morning.

All in all, that's a trip of almost 34000 kms but it will only last 55 hours door to door, for a roughly 18.5 hour Australian holiday. And he'll have to fork out more than 7000 dollars.

"After the semi-final and the emotion of the way that happened, there was no way I was going to miss out on the opportunity to go," Thompson told the New Zealand Herald.

However, a bigger challenge awaits Thompson. The match kicks off at 2.30 pm local time, and 3.30 am London time, probably well beyond his bed time. No wonder it's keeping him awake.

"If I fall asleep for 10 minutes or so when Brendon McCullum is batting, he will have scored 70 and got out. So I'll definitely make sure I am awake when he comes to the crease."