World Cup 2023: Grant Elliott hopes New Zealand can bury the ghosts of 2015 and 2019

“Grant Elliot: Superman!”#OnThisDay in 2015 New Zealand beat South Africa in the @CricketWorldCup semi-final, one of the most exciting ODIs of all time.

Watch the highlights of Grant Elliott’s incredible knock. pic.twitter.com/2PlCcC3efK

— ICC (@ICC) March 24, 2018

Four months before the 2015 World Cup New Zealand’s national selectors had told Elliot he wasn’t part of their plans. Which is when his sister, Kate would ask him if she could hold her wedding on the same day as the World Cup final. He’d agreed but now stood at an awkward juncture. There wasn’t much of a choice to be made though. A whiplash of a shot all the way over long on and New Zealand were in the World Cup final for the first time. Not many saw that coming. To think of New Zealand’s hero on the night, it almost didn’t happen.

But that’s been the story of New Zealand at world tournaments – the only team to have reached the semifinals of the last four World Cups. You cannot count them out. “We seem to come together so well in world tournaments and probably one of the reasons we seem to always punch above our weight,” says Elliot. As Kane Williamson and Co embark on another campaign, Elliot reckons if anything, having less spotlight on the team as compared to the likes of India, Australia and England helps. “No spotlight on the team and individuals…always under the radar and no following circus of press to jump on every false comment or mistake in the field.”

Back home, the fever is red hot for the World Cup – not just for cricket. It is the rugby World Cup going on in France that has gripped the entire nation, which probably helps the team in India. “You can’t walk down the street being an All Black. Black Caps are still very much under the radar compared to rugby. I think we like it that way,” says Elliot before a little smile takes him over and he concedes his hopes for the coming month-and-a-half. “Most Kiwis grow up wanting to be an All Black. Maybe 2023 can change that for the 13-year-old watching them lift the trophy.”

It was something Elliot and the batch of 2015 had come agonizingly close to making happen. A final loss that rankles him to this day. “At 35 overs we seemed to be coasting at around 150/3 with me and (Ross) Taylor in. We lost our way and couldn’t keep the pressure on. A real regret of mine and we should have gotten over 250 from that position.”

It had been an emotional tournament even otherwise for New Zealand, as it rallied behind one of its favorite sons. Martin Crowe, who was fighting cancer at the time, had expressed his last wish was to watch New Zealand lift the cup. Elliot, who is born in South Africa, had tuned in to the ‘92 World Cup to watch Proteas in colours, took an instant liking to the Kiwis and Crowe. Later on, Crowe became his favorite player and maybe a reason for him to trust New Zealand as his cricket haven. Look through their squads over the years, and you know Elliot isn’t the only one, but that’s a story for another day.

In 2019, a second World Cup final would leave an even bigger scar on Black Caps. Elliot believes even though the Williamson-led side didn’t have senior players peak the way Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori and Co did, the team had gelled well to exceed all expectations. Defeats such as Lord’s 2019, which on the scoreboard wasn’t even a defeat, begs the question if there’s bad fortune associated with New Zealand at the World Cup. “Nothing unfortunate. You need a bit of luck or someone to step up to the plate and we just haven’t had anyone take the game by the scruff of the neck.”

In 2023, Elliot believes the 15-member squad comprises players who “won’t be scared of a final or a tense moment. If anything they will embrace it!”

Winning however isn’t the be-all and end-all for them. It’s a popular saying in New Zealand for the All Blacks, but it rings true for the Black Caps as well. From Williamson smiling in the aftermath of the Lord’s final to Elliot pausing his celebrations in his finest moment to console a grief-stricken Steyn, the latter admits the ‘nice guys’ moniker is one the Kiwis take pride in. “I was brought up to be humble in victory and humble in defeat. At the end of the day, you will be measured by the person you were and not the runs and wickets next to your name.”

It is the reason that makes New Zealand neutral’s favourite. Even before a ball is bowled in the 13th edition of the tournament, the Black Caps seem to have registered their first win with regards to the way they announced their squad. There’s a warmth of a closely knit community one gets from watching the kids, wives, mothers, grandmothers announce their World Cup 15. “New Zealand is about community. It’s about the sum of the parts and not individuals,” believes Elliot.