Cricket: Let the fun and games begin

Let the cricket begin.

It feels like the last six weeks have just been part of an elaborate World Cup countdown.

Everyone who has ever held a bat or run fingers down a seam has made a prediction.

Logan Park Drive has been renamed Brendon McCullum Drive for the duration of the tournament.

A bunch of Dunedin grannies have been yarn bombing trees - wrapping them in woollen sleeves the colour of the four teams playing games in the city.

Those little flags you stick on your car have gone on sale and somewhere, somehow, someone with very green credentials and too much time on his or her hands is busily calculating how much extra fuel will be consumed by the nation as a result.

There has been tough but expletive-free talk about clamping down on sledging.

Hot Spot has been axed because there are not enough cameras (puh-lease) and the DRS might not be part of the next tournament, although the word being bandied about is ''re-imagined''.

The half-hearted and ultimately meaningless warm-up matches have come to an end.

The credits have rolled on a painful opening ceremony which will probably only ever be remembered for Stephen Fleming and Richie McCaw blowing a high-five - if you watch the elbow, you can't miss, mate.

The Australians have been over-hyped.

The South Africans have been positioned for another almighty fall. All of New Zealand is fizzing about the prospects the Black Caps might actually win a semifinal.

Jesse Ryder is still on the naughty step and will fight political blogger Cameron Slater instead. Chris Gayle is done flirting - for now.

And thank goodness we won't have to watch reruns of the 1992 World Cup and the Young Guns falling victim to Inzamam-ul-Haq in that semifinal any more.

The real action gets under way today with New Zealand hosting Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval, and the Australians playing England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

For long-suffering Black Caps fans, there are legitimate reasons to feel optimistic.

The popgun attacks we have so often brandished in the past - read, 1992 - have been significantly upgraded with the addition of the raw pace of Adam Milne and the surprisingly sharp Trent Boult.

Tim Southee is no slouch, either, and spearheads the attack.

Experienced spinner Daniel Vettori is in the twilight of his career but has lost none of his guile.

Kane Williamson is in the middle of a golden run which has many suggesting he will go on to be our greatest batsman.

Ross Taylor has rediscovered his touch and remains a threat, and McCullum boasts destructive power and a no-fear approach which scares everybody - including some of his biggest fans.

The team is fresh from impressive series wins over Pakistan and Sri Lanka and will get to play every game on home soil except the final, should it make it that far.

The Black Caps' opening game could run into a few weather delays with the odd morning shower, cloudy periods and southerlies forecast for Christchurch.

Take a rug and an umbrella if you have tickets.

The tournament arrives in Dunedin on Tuesday with the Black Caps playing Scotland at the University Oval - it is one of three games at the venue.

adrian.seconi@odt.co.nz

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