John McBeth: Aussies anxious too

Mike Hesson is cool and calm. Brendon McCullum is the same. These two are exuding a calmness that eludes most of the Black Caps fans as we await the final of the Cricket World Cup.

It's a coolness that we saw from Grant Elliot, now dubbed "the hairy javelin", but as he admitted after his heroics at Eden Park, his outward appearance belied the inner anxiety and strain he was feeling. That's probably the same right now for all the players and the coaching team. They wouldn't be human if they weren't feeling some sort of anxiety.

But the Australians will be in exactly the same situation. While we often refer to the Aussies as having an enviable attitude- an arrogance- when it comes to sport, they are not immune to a fear of buckling under pressure. In fact the expectations on them are far greater than those on McCullum and his team. The Australians are expected to win. They have the advantage of playing in front of home fans, who probably anticipated South Africa to be in the final, and at the MCG which they rate as one of their favourite venues, but they are also aware that New Zealand has shown no fear in any game of this tournament.

That will worry the Australians who, in cricket at least, have usually had the mental edge over New Zealand teams as well as a supreme confidence in the talent of their players to overcome any challenge from teams across the Tasman.

While ex players such as Mathew Hayden predictably emphasise the home team's strengths and reasons for their favouritism, they also harbour a few reservations. They have noted that the Kiwi skipper and senior players such as Daniel Vettori, constantly refer to 'having some fun out there', and at no stage will they have detected any nervousness from any players.The Australians also cannot help but have been impressed by the way New Zealand chased down a massive total against South Africa and how they did so under enormous pressure.

Right now the Australians are pushing the difficulties the Black Caps will face at the MCG. Both sides have extraordinarily talented players who are seemingly calmly preparing for 'just another match'.

But they are all soon going to be thrust into an arena amidst an almost terrfying atmosphere for one of the great cricketing prizes. How they individually cope with that will decide the match.

I'm struggling to cope with the wait to watch it!

© Scoop Media