Last night was the World Cup Final, and Australia were worthy winners of the game. The three highlights to me.
(1) Starc's first over to McCullum, just brilliant bowling, and got the reward he deserved. It set the scene, rather than deciding the match.
(2) Smith's composure and calmness when he came out to bat. Fitting he hit the winning runs.
(3) McCullum's grace and dignity in defeat. Seeing him chase each ball as if it was the first over, his post match speech and press conference, running to Clarke to shake his hand after he was dismissed, (along with a number of other NZ players). Just pure class.
The honorable mention, would be Clarke - on one level it was sad he wasn't there at the end, but at the same time, he got to walk off the ground to a standing ovation, which he deserved.
The low light, Channel 9's coverage. How on earth did Shane Warne get the nod for the post match interviews, we learnt more about the players drinking habits than anything else, only Watson and Clarke were asked about their opponents. Disappointing that Mark Nicholas announced Dan's (rumored) retirement to the world while neglecting to mention Misbah-ul-Haq or Shahid Afridi.
Highlights of the World Cup:
(1) The tournament dominated by the bat - 4 scores of over 400, 2 double hundreds, 38 centuries... The average strike rate was in the high 80s.
(2) Admist that, two bowlers stood up above the others Trent Boult and Mitchell Starc. Fitting that Starc was player of the tournament.
(3) The two matches which will live in my memory and which highlight the beauty of cricket were the Afghanistan v Scotland game and the South Africa - New Zealand semi-final.
So proud of the NZ team.
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