It was dark and cold when the passengers of flight NZ1127 checked in at Auckland airport yesterday at 6.30am.
It was cold and dark when the majority returned to Tullamarine to catch flight NZ1128, departing at 2.30am today, back home.
The hours in between were sun kissed but unkind. Dressed in black, beige and teal, they travelled as much in hope as expectation - both can be cruel.
They returned a lot more tired and a little bit poorer than when they left. For the next couple of days, some of them will wonder whether it was worth it. They will snap at the kids, unfriend Australian mates on Facebook and spend a little too long in their pyjamas.
Then they will get over it. New Zealand cricket fans always do. A lifetime of disappointments has cushioned them and the only reason this crushing defeat hurts so much more is because this team had convinced us they were impervious to the vagaries of form.
But sport does not work like that.
There is an old saying that you have to lose a final to win one. It is nonsense, but perhaps you have to play a final to fully understand the unique pressures.
The message from the Black Caps team since their thrilling win against South Africa on Tuesday was that they could not wait.
They wanted Australia at the MCG; they wanted to bat first and set the tone. Attack, attack, attack. The only problem was the Australians could not give a XXXX about what it they wanted.
They ran in hard, claimed Brendon McCullum's wicket off the fifth ball of the match and kept pressing, squeezing and outplaying New Zealand until the inadequate target of 184 was reached with barely a blip.
Australian captain Michael Clarke, a peripheral figure at this tournament in comparison with McCullum, got his fairytale ending (this was his last ODI), while New Zealand's great warhorse, Daniel Vettori, quite literally limped off stage _ wicketless and sore.
New Zealand was taught a lesson by Australia, but do not forget the six weeks before this _ Southee's seven for; Williamson's six; McCullum's pyrotechnics; Guptill, Martin freaking Guptill; Elliott's miracle. That was all real. This campaign was no mirage. Keep believing.
In the house bar of an Auckland hotel late last year, McCullum was asked what coach Mike Hesson's strengths were. He is a back of the house coach, seemingly happiest in virtual anonymity, so what exactly does he bring to the table.
McCullum pondered briefly before offering this: ''He's not that interested in short term results. He wants to build something that lasts forever''.
It is a mission that resonates now, as New Zealand's neon lit campaign slipped into the shadows last night.
They will be back and they will be better. This will be a team worth investing in for a long time.
