The phoney war is almost over. The hoopla and speeches at the opening ceremony are behind us.
We now await the bowling of the first ball of the 2015 Cricket World Cup at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch, tomorrow.
This is an extra special occasion for Christchurch, being in an international sporting spotlight four long years since the February 2011 earthquakes.
No-one can begrudge the city the opportunity to celebrate.
It will then be Dunedin and the University Oval's turn to host New Zealand, with the match against Scotland next Tuesday.
Seldom has expectation on New Zealand been so high.
The team is a talented group, perhaps the strongest all-round combination this country has produced, with greater depth than during the Richard Hadlee and Martin Crowe years.
They are led by captain Brendon McCullum with verve and aggression. They are meticulously coached by another Dunedin lad, Mike Hesson.
They are also being talked about around the cricketing world - while significantly behind South Africa and Australia - as a real chance to pull this one off.
Despite average recent performances, England as three-time runner-up cannot be ignored, India is the reigning champion and Pakistan and Sri Lanka have both won World Cups, unlike New Zealand.
After all, New Zealand's form before its golden run in 1992 had been mediocre and any top-tier nation could come through.
Many suspect, however, the subcontinent teams lack the bowling fire power to go all the way in New Zealand and Australian conditions.
Given New Zealand's small number of cricketers and its ranking, 6th, it should be given little show.
There is, as well, the nature of one-off knockout games (just ask the All Blacks).
One stumble from the quarterfinals on and it is all over. One brilliant performance from an opponent (just think Pakistan's Imzaman-ul-Haq in the 1992 semifinal at Eden Park) and a team can be out.
New Zealand has over-achieved in making the semifinals at six of the 10 World Cups.
While making the semis will be a substantial achievement even this time, long-suffering hard-core cricket supporters, the general public and the team itself will be seeking and expecting more.
Can New Zealand be there at the Melbourne Cricket Ground final on March 29?
That is, indeed, a long way off. One of the criticisms of the tournament is the time it takes before it reaches the business end.
Each four years the format is adjusted, and that needs to happen again for 2019.
Too many of the pool matches will be one-sided and/or have little meaning; 49 matches and 14 teams is too many.
It is intense competition and the uncertainty of result that make sport compelling. Even this year's Halberg Awards demonstrated that fact.
The awards lined up athletes with strong competing claims and a long list of worthy champions, including overall winners Hamish Bond and Eric Murray.
They won a fifth world title in the coxless pair before being joined by a coxswain to smash the world record in the coxed pair.
Despite that achievement, it was McCullum's 302, New Zealand's first triple century, that caught the popular imagination and ''stopped the nation''.
Cricket is this country's number one summer sport and McCullum's achievement will be widely remembered and praised as long as cricket is played here.
We all know, nevertheless, that arbitrary awards which endeavour to compare across sports are nothing when lined up against actual achievement.
What McCullum will really care about is success for him and his team at the World Cup.
New Zealand takes on Sri Lanka for the 8th time this year in the tournament's first match, after a series with four wins, two loses and one abandoned fixture.
Although that success should bolster confidence, there will be considerable nervousness all round because so much can go wrong.
Let the battles on the cricket fields of Australasia begin.
