Motley Crew

Even a rabid fan like me will freely admit that this New Zealand side is not finalist material. This is a rag-tag bunch, most of whose names are unfamiliar to observers outside NZ. Some of them have been summoned at the last minute from India, Australia and England at various times. It has all been irrelevant out in the middle, but when you consider this background you realise what an improbable result it has been for the side, and indeed for the tournament.

In my last post, I alluded to how the kiwis were in with a chance against Pakistan because they appealed as being the more desperate side. They have, amazingly, been driven by their skipper's almost demented will to win, somewhat like Diego Maradona's off-colour Argentinian team which made the finals of the 1990 World Cup. In the ODIs leading up to the Sri Lanka game, the side's performances had been wretched, with the players appearing complacent and showing no stomach for a fight. It has taken a combination of injuries to key players and the arrival of some hungry and resourceful journeymen to put the campaign on track. The contribution of these 'fringe' players serves as a good lesson the to more established members of the side, who have generally failed to follow the lead of Daniel Vettori.

Vettori and Grant Elliott have rightly received the plaudits for bringing the team thus far, but there have been other unlikely heroes who've held their nerve during the moments that mattered. Aaron Redmond (who has been nicely profiled by Sportsfreak) does not appeal as an adequate fill-in for Jesse Ryder, but his 31 on debut yesterday was instrumental in preventing the Pakistani pacers from inflicting early damage. Ian Butler, who lost 7 kilos following an infection early in the tournament, broke the back of Pakistan's innings with a four-wicket haul including the prized early scalp of Shahid Afridi - and this after being clubbed for 13 in his first over. James Franklin has looked innocuous without any swing to assist his bowling, but his allround effort in the Sri Lanka game was the kind which ought to be Jacob Oram's regular contribution. And Elliott, like Vettori, has compensated for a suspect technique by refusing to die without a scrap.

Of course, when you're an underperforming and injury-hit lineup you need dollops of luck to take you all the way to a final. NZ admittedly enjoyed the best of the conditions in the Sri Lanka and England games, and had Younis Khan held on to that ridiculously simple chance offered by Elliott the semifinal may well have had a different outcome. The selectors have gotten away with an ill-chosen squad, which featured no backup batsman. Brendon Diamanti, Gareth Hopkins and (most unfortunately) Jeetan Patel must all be wondering what their purpose in this setup must be. Scott Styris was brought in as standby for Elliott, but the selectors clearly seem to think his decade of experience as a solid batsman and useful bowler is surplus to requirements. All this has added up to a flawed, hiccup-inducing campaign; somehow, it has made for extremely compelling viewing.

By all reckoning, the Aussies should beat NZ comfortably in tomorrow's final. But then the same was expected of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and instead they came to grief. Australia will most likely be saved if they manage to arrest any notions of complacency; sometimes, a depleted opponent can be the most dangerous one. And if I weren't a kiwi supporter, I would still be cheering for them in the finals in the hope of a happy ending to a fairy-tale. It is this possibility, and this very nature of the game which makes it such an enduring one.