It would seem that almost the whole of Australia is already celebrating a fourth World Cup victory, for no other reason than their belief that the 85-yard long boundaries at Melbourne Cricket Ground will be too long a distance for New Zealand to traverse in their quest for a maiden title.
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It’s not just the dimensions of the MCG that could be a worry for New Zealand, but also the number of partisan home supporters that are planning to fill the stadium for tomorrow’s final.
At least 90,000 fans are expected, double the biggest attendance in New Zealand’s eight home matches. And it’s not just a feeling of Australian fans and experts, even Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that size does matter.
Believe, the #BlackCaps can play well in the #MCG They can hit big sixes as they did in #NZ Check this pic pic.twitter.com/oRAaKVmxwm
— mohamed sameer (@abdulsameer1110) March 27, 2015
“One of the biggest things that the New Zealand team will have to deal with is the size of the field,” said Dhoni after losing the semi-final to Australia in Sydney on Thursday. “In New Zealand, you can get away with quite a few mis-timed shots.
“Generally what we have seen in New Zealand, you get very good wickets. But when you come to Australia, you get a bit of reverse swing, and at the same time you may get wickets where it’s slightly two-paced, especially at MCG.
“How to take risk will be something that’s very crucial, and Australia have that advantage of knowing the wickets well, and having three left-arm fast bowlers in their armoury will certainly help them.”
Writing in his column yesterday, former Australian opener Matthew Hayden was scathing about the small size of New Zealand grounds, with the straight fence of Eden Park being just 64 yards away from the batsman.
“There were a number of times in the semi-final where the New Zealand batsmen appeared to be hitting big balls, but they’d be getting caught three quarters of the way to the fence at the MCG,” he wrote.
“Let’s be honest, the size of Eden Park (in Auckland) is ridiculous. It shouldn’t be a cricket ground.”
The #MCGsobig that when you get to Level 4 your ears pop.
— Melbourne Cricket Gd (@MCG) March 26, 2015
The New Zealand fans did not take too kindly to Hayden’s words, and have filled the social media sites with their hilarious reactions and funny memes. In fact, hashtag #MCGsobig was trending on Twitter Down Under yesterday.
Only seven New Zealand players have the experience of playing at the MCG, with Daniel Vettori leading the way with seven appearances since 1997.
The last time the two teams played an ODI there was 2009 and the last Test between the two teams at the Victorian capital was in 1987.
