Even though I am an England fan, from Day 1 I predicted that New Zealand would win the World Cup. Now, they are one game away. Although they should face an exceptionally strong Australia team in the final, they go into the game full of confidence.

How have New Zealand been able to play to such high levels for the duration of the tournament and what can Bermuda cricketers learn from them?

New Zealand have been a work in progress for years. They have always had promising cricketers, but they had to adopt a style of play that best suited their game. Now, it appears that they have found the right combination of players and tactics.

The first and most significant component of any successful team is the captain. In Brendon McCullum, New Zealand have a captain who leads by example. His aggressive batting style often puts New Zealand in a dominant position. He is also an intelligent leader on the field and displays total commitment while fielding.

He is often seen throwing his body about to stop anything remotely close to him. His leadership skills, from a tactical standpoint, have been nothing short of brilliant. While most captains have maintained regulation field placings, he has deviated from convention, particularly in the early stages of matches when the ball is swinging about to assist the fast bowlers. He has frequently employed three slips and a gully to demonstrate confidence in his seam bowlers.

The next key to New Zealand’s success during this campaign is that everyone on the team knows his role. Whenever a coach is putting a game plan together, that individual seeks team players first; players who are willing to sacrifice their personal game for the sake of the team. A prime example of this is McCullum, who is what can be termed as a ball-beater. New Zealand use him to open the batting and attack the bowlers from the start. Irrespective of who is leading the opposition attack, McCullum takes great delight in ruthlessly smashing them to all parts of the ground. The rest of the team recognise that this is the intent. Some days it will work and some days it won’t, but the rest of the team understand what to do in each circumstance.

People ask me in the streets why is it that my teams tend to be successful? The answer is simple! Every player in my team must buy into my coaching beliefs. I believe that to be a team you must be willing to sacrifice your own personal game for the sake of the team.

From Day 1, I tell my players that everything we do from now until the end of the season revolves around team; if you are not a team player, you are at the wrong club.

Another key ingredient to New Zealand’s success is their fielding. Because of their high levels of fitness and agility, they are able to chase balls down, and dive and cut off boundaries. Watching New Zealand reminds me of the St George’s team back in the late Eighties, early Nineties, when we were known throughout Bermuda for exceptional fielding. New Zealand often save 20 runs or more while fielding.

If you watch the world’s top teams, fielding is one area they tend to excel in. Two very important examples from this World Cup highlight the significance of fielding: West Indies’ Marlon Samuels dropping New Zealand’s Martin Guptil on the third ball of the game. Guptil was on four and went on to make 237 not out. Second, South Africa missed three run-out attempts in the semi-final — Corey Anderson, Daniel Vettori and Grant Elliott — because of poor throws, and that ultimately cost them the game.

About a week ago, I heard some of the commentators discussing the different teams and how they warm up before matches. They were discussing the level of intensity with which South Africa, Australia and New Zealand warm up compared with some of the other teams who are more nonchalant. They highlighted that other teams tend to drop more catches and are not as dedicated in the field.

Bermuda teams can learn from this because participating in intense pre-game warm-ups can be critical to a team’s success. It can “get the juices flowing” and lend itself to a sharp focus and sense of readiness. It is a simple truth that Bermuda teams in general do not take their warm-ups very seriously unless it is before a big match. Warming up properly is something that club teams can do week in and week out to help to improve the standard of play in Bermuda. It is the little things such as this that make a huge difference.

Hopefully, the World Cup final will be an absorbing encounter and entertains us from the beginning to the end. There has been some brilliant cricket played over the past month, but now it is down to one last game. Can New Zealand win their first final? History shows us that the final is not normally a closely contested match, but let’s hope this is different and that we are treated to an epic final with a New Zealand win.