Australia, oh Australia, it is getting a little tiring, boring, predictable. Time and again, these men in yellow and green, irrespective of the names or reputations, come to the big stage, find their mojo at the right time and run away with the title like only they can.
The same was the case on Sunday in front of a record crowd at the MCG, as New Zealand were just overwhelmed and outclassed by an Aussie performance reminiscent of those years of domination in the early noughties.
While this World Cup will be remembered as the one that Australia won on their home soil – making it five World Cup wins in five different continents -- there are so many other memories to take away from this special World Cup – the runs, the fielding, the bowling, with all odds stacked against them, and of course the marvellous crowds, some of the best we have ever seen, and probably ever will.
With the two white balls and crucially the extra fielder inside the circle, it was always going to be a batsman's World Cup and so it proved to be with records tumbling left, right and centre. This was the CWC with most 300+ scores, highest strike rates, by some margin, and individual scores which made your jaws drops.
Chris Gayle became the first ever player to wallop a double century in World Cup cricket, and then Martin Guptill went one better by scoring a majestic 237 in a quarterfinal against Gayle's West Indies.
Who can forget that stunning spell from Tim Southee which had everyone spellbound and England looking to find an underground tunnel which would take them all the way back home – England of course would have more ignominy painted over them with the loss to Bangladesh, which would mean that early flight and no knockout competition. Or how about the spells from Trent Boult and Mitchell Starc in the same game, with the latter almost single-handedly pulling off what would have been the most enthralling of wins in one of the lowest scoring, and yet, most exciting matches of the tournament.
But the bowling spell of all bowling spells will go to Wahab Riaz, the kind of spell that is so rare nowadays, and almost non-existent in limited overs cricket. To make the eventual world champions jump and hop around like batsmen used to do all the time in the 1970s against the West Indies, was a sight to behold and it will go down as one of the great spells of ODI and World Cup cricket.
While the bowlers had their moments, it was all about the batsmen after all, and apart from those two double centuries there were a few other stunning knocks as well, be that AB De Villiers' ridiculous hundred against the West Indies or Kumar Sangakkara's near unbelievable four consecutive centuries or Rohit Sharma's glorious ton against Bangladesh, the kind of century which raised hopes of India possibly taming Australia at their own backyard for the first time in the summer.
But then, that was not to be was it? Australia were just too damn strong, making the second semifinal a rout, with the first semi one for the ages and voted by the viewers as the best of the tournament. A World Cup is not a World Cup without South African disappointment, and that disappointment came at a packed Eden Park, under lights with a man from Johannesburg hitting one of the best bowlers in the world for a six over long-on.
That should have been the omen to help New Zealand to their first ever World Cup victory, but nope, as their Trans-Tasman rivals, with skills, determination and ability to win the big moments, came to the party in some style to bid goodbye to their skipper and pay tribute to their "little brother" in the best possible manner.
