There is a cloud over our tiny country today, but some sun is shining through. When I was 13, I took part in a 24-hour Danceathon, and last night was the first since then that I stayed awake throughout the night without even getting tired. It was the final of the Cricket World Cup in England, and New Zealand had exceeded all expectations to get to the final. We were up against England, the top One Day cricket team for the past four years, playing at Lord’s, the home of cricket. The English were red hot favourites. No one outside of NZ gave us a chance.

But we dared to hope. This wonderful team, led by the most humble and talented Kane Williamson, are capable of anything. They might not be a team of heroes, but they are a heroic team. They are not paid anywhere near that of their more affluent opponents, but that doesn’t dictate their ability or effort. And so it proved, after seven hours on an all-night cricket roller coaster, ebbs and flows, and some bizarre events, the likes of which I have never seen on a cricket field before, the teams were tied. Bring on a super over, similar to a football penalty shoot-out. After the super over, miraculously the teams were still tied. So, based on a rather odd rule, which is bound to be reviewed before the next event, England were awarded the World Cup. But rules are rules. Sport, like life, can be cruel, full of highs and lows, and sometimes seemingly influenced by something bigger than all of us.

Well done England on your first World Cup victory. You have been the best team for the past four years, you play the game in great spirit, and after living there for a long time, I know how much sporting victory (or the lack of it) means to you. You are my second team, my second home.

In NZ today, there is an air of tiredness and a sadness at being so close and yet so far. After a couple of hours sleep, I awoke in the foetal position and turned on Radio Sport for some post-match therapy. I even called in.

After a while, though, Sam the Producer summed up the pain. Regardless of what happened, we are just hurting for our team, because they’re such an awesome bunch of sportsmen. The overwhelming emotion of the callers was pride. Pride in how they exceeded our expectations, pride in their tenacity, never giving up when the chips were down, pride in the way they supported their team members through their individual ups and downs, and most of all pride in their maturity and humility during their wins and losses along the way. Pride in how they conducted themselves, and how they represented NZ and the sport of cricket, which after all, is supposed to be a gentleman’s game.

This pride is well-founded and reflected in the British media this morning.

The most glowing came from Tim Wigmore in The Telegraph: “In those split seconds when they can taste victory, this seems like not merely New Zealand cricket’s greatest day, but one to recalibrate the image of the country’s cricket. Not just the nice guys and overachievers – but also winners on cricket’s grandest stage,” he wrote.

Other quotes from The Guardian and The Times blogs:
– “England’s miracle means that there is no New Zealand miracle. But there is still glory in their journey, reaffirmed by the quiet dignity with which they accept their unfathomable bad luck and even more unfathomable defeat.”
– “Somehow, they have lost – but the way in which they have done so has enriched the final, the tournament and their sport.”
– “Only the Kiwis could have coped so graciously with the manner of their defeat in the most riveting final this tournament has ever witnessed.”
– “What they lack in charisma, they more than make up by being cool, calm and civilised.”

There are no losers in this.

Why do my eyes fill up when I read these quotes? Apart from the fact that I’m exhausted. It’s because in this world of increasing divisiveness where it’s all about winning and losing, it warms my heart that in times of stress, when a group of young men are under pressure and want something so much, that the values of tenacity, composure, empathy, humility, team and connection score more highly than a win at any cost. Those are the types of values and people I want in my country and my world.

And that is what I love about sport.

Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash