2015 World Cup Final: 'We're ready to play'

Anyone who tells themselves that New Zealand's reborn cricketers will be intimidated by their first appearance in a World Cup final and might tighten to the point of strangulation on the big stage hasn't seen the 2015 incarnation of the Black Caps.

Taking their lead from a captain who grows more impressive with each international innings and every public speaking outing, the team that has the support of every cricket fan without an Australian allegiance could hardly have been more relaxed in their final training session today.

If they are daunted by the MCG, that fear was skilfully concealed behind laughs, banter and one of the more engaging brotherly battles when spinner Nathan McCullum challenged his younger sibling to score 20 from five deliveries when bowling to him in the nets.

The captain took up the challenge with relish but, with 10 required off two balls, skied a slog sweep at a crafty slower ball and skied what would have been a simple catch for any number of close fielders.

"I think he won," 33-year-old Brendon said of his duel with his 34-year-old brother who is part of the Black Caps 15-man squad but won't be playing in tomorrow's historic final.

"But I definitely hit some huge sixes off him as well, and that's what's more important.

"It's good game. It was good, entertaining training. The boys are in a nice relaxed state and enjoying themselves."

Not that their Australian opponents cast a dour, worried countenance when they arrived at the MCG later in the day for an optional training run that was exercised by all members of their squad, even if the fast bowlers restricted themselves to a few walking laps of the famous ground.

At one stage David Warner jumped jockey-style on the back of allrounder Mitchell Marsh who proceeded to engage in a series of standing squats, before Warner dismounted, sprinted 50 metres and crash tackled one of his teammates to the turf.

Whether the good nature of the build-up extends into the tone of tomorrow's rivalry, only events will reveal.

But what is clear is that New Zealand's most celebrated player is making the most of his team's unprecedented climb to the game's summit and his intent to enjoy the view rather than fret over the descent has percolated through his players.

"It's been an amazing trip," said McCullum, who spent the evening before the Black Caps final training session indulging his passion for horse racing – he runs a lucrative thoroughbred blood stock operation – by attending a trotting meet at Melbourne's Moonee Valley.

"We dreamed right from the start to now give ourselves a 50-50 chance in the final is an amazing achievement.

"So we've done some special things over the last little while.

"We've had some tremendous support back home, and also from around the world as well. I think the brand of cricket that we've played has really touched a lot of people and endeared ourselves to a lot of people who follow this game.

"We've got one more big hurdle tomorrow. We'll give it everything we've possibly got.

"Hopefully if we play well, we'll be smiling at the end of the day and be able to look back on a fantastic campaign and something which would hopefully invigorate the game and New Zealand."

Much has been made of the trans-Tasman rivalry that is most keenly felt in the game of rugby but extends across most sports and most other endeavours in which there is an element of competition.

Quick Single: Top 10 trans-Tasman clashes

But while opponents routinely mouth platitudes about the respect for their rivals that rarely translates into on-field actions, there was a warmth in the handshake and subsequent embrace between the two captains and in the words of Australia's Michael Clarke to suggest much more than lip service.

"I have a great relationship with Brendon (McCullum)," Clarke said today.

"I'll always be grateful for the way that him and his team respected the (Phillip) Hughes tragedy and respected Phillip's family.

"So that's probably brought us closer together."

The recognition the New Zealand players showed in the wake of Hughes's death, when they called off a day of their Test against Pakistan in the UAE due to the effect it had on their players which McCullum spoke about at length at game's end, was duly noted in Australia.

It was an act of genuineness from a group of players who, under McCullum's stewardship, have hauled themselves back from the brink of international irrelevance in a nation where cricket struggles to gain a foothold and are putting paid to the notion that nice guys finish last.

"It wasn't so long ago that we weren't in a great space in international cricket," McCullum said today.

"And I guess we went through some pretty tough times and that led us to strip things right back and led us to be totally honest to where we set in the international game, and how we are viewed not just in New Zealand and also externally.

"That was not just as cricketers, but people as well.

"Also to develop and understand the style of play we wanted to play which gives us our greatest chance of being the bigger teams on more regular occasions and also being able to win World Cups.

"So I guess at that point in time we stripped it all back and we started to try to plot our way forward.

"It's been almost the perfect way back to be honest.

"We've still had some tough times on the way.

"We've lost some personnel on the way through but I think what we've got at this point in time is a group of guys not just on the field but back room staff, reserves, even guys on the periphery of the squad as well who are all desperate to represent New Zealand and make a difference in this game."

Bookmakers of the legal variety believe that Australia will enter the final a clear favourite.

Neither captain wanted to enter that debate on match eve, with McCullum especially skittish in talking about odds on matches, laughing off the inappropriateness of such questions given the corruption allegations that have hovered over figures with whom he once played.

But McCullum was quick to seize on suggestions that Indian fans disaffected by their team's inability to make it past Australia in last Thursday's semi-final were jumping aboard the BlackCaps' bandwagon, reinforcing the view that New Zealand is every cricket fans' second-favourite team.

If not their first.

Clarke shrugged off suggestions that favouritism carries pressure, pointing out Australia teams are not unfamiliar with big games and the biggest of stages.

But even that message was delivered with a helping of magnanimity.

"I think we've shown that we can handle pressure, we've had the expectation put on us from the first ball of this tournament being in our home country as I'm sure New Zealand have as well," Clarke said.

"It will be about playing with freedom, the lesson I learned at a very young age is that's the reason you go to training every day, that's why you work so hard at your preparation so when you walk on to that big stage under pressure you play with freedom.

"I couldn't be happier with the way the team has prepared for this tournament, the fact that the whole team is here again today for an optional training session shows the dedication and shows there the team's at mentally.

"We're ready to play."