Sports Call - Okay time to stop the wailing and gnashing of teeth.
All this whinging and moaning - we're starting to sound like Poms.
England won the Cricket World Cup and are world champions - and they deserve it!
Yes deciding who won the title on more boundaries scored is an oddity and needs to be changed.
But the Super Over format to decide a match that finishes level after 100 overs is great.
This is one day cricket after all - it's not the real McCoy of Test cricket - there's got to be an element of the spectacular to it all.
Perhaps there should have been a second Super Over when the scores finished level for a third time.
Read more of RNZ'S Cricket World Cup final coverage:
But think of this.
England would have had every right to complain had the Black Caps won on the Super Over.
Yes the rules were set out before the tournament started that boundaries would decide any tie.
Surely the better option at that stage would be to decide the trophy on who won the round-robin match between the two sides or who finished the higher qualifier.
Guess who that was?
England on both occasions. So don't complain.
Photo: Photosport
Yes - the umpires got it wrong when England were given six from the third-last ball when a throw from Martin Guptill ricocheted off the bat of a diving Ben Stokes to go to the boundary.
Yes - Ross Taylor was given out LBW when replays showed the ball going over the stumps and New Zealand didn't have a review left after Martin Guptill had used it up to try and overturn his plumb LBW.
Yes - Trent Boult stood on the boundary rope when taking a catch which would have dismissed Ben Stokes and more than likely extinguished England's hopes.
Have I missed anything? Undoubtedly.
There were mistakes, misjudgement and miscalculations throughout the game.
And that was the beauty of it all. We got put through the ringer - and enjoyed it and should celebrate it.
India cricket fans no doubt feel hard down by at the World Cup too. Photo: Photosport
Think on this.
If seven weeks ago our crystal ball told us the Black Caps were going to be in the final. Most would have disbelieved.
The Black Caps lost three games in pool play - Pakistan, Australia and England.
The win over India in the semifinal was a true team effort and top performance.
But the only reason they were there in the first place was the point they earned when the pool match against India was washed out and the points were shared.
That point was the difference between making the semis and not.
A dejected New Zealand captain Kane Williamson after losing the final. Photo: Photosport
Luck goes both ways. And that's the thing - luck.
You can't get away from fate.
German novelist Herman Hesse wrote:
"I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value."
A little too prosaic perhaps. Maybe we should go for Lemony Snicket's - A Series of Unfortunate Events.
"Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like."
But let us acknowledge the achievement of the Black Caps. They got a whole lot further than the most optimistic of Black Caps fans could have hoped and while we may not like the outcome, Kane Williamson, the player of the tournament, explained it succinctly: "it is, what it is."
