New Zealand v Australia

We took a train from Paddington and two hours later, after a spectacular electrical storm we were in Cardiff. Of course next stop after we dropped off our gear at a boys/girls segregated hostel, was the nightlife. Berlins was the place to be. The drinks were 90p all night and the music was fantastic. It was and enjoyable night.

The match. 20.5.99

The weather started off perfectly. The ground was really small and I think filled mostly with kiwis. We were in the second row behind the wickets and to the left of the sight screen . It was great as Gavin Larsen spent a great deal of time fielding by us, as you can see by the photos. After about 10 overs it rained quite heavily and we were a bit worried we would miss the game. But the sun decided to be kind.

Australia was going quite well but we managed to put the breaks on in the last ten overs and took a few wickets as well.

They were 213/8 after 50 overs. We started out and had lost two wickets early on. Then Twose and Cairns started to collect slowly. The game was quite boring and most of us thought we didn’t have much chance of pulling it off. Then Twose decided to get going and Cairns followed suit with some great sixes. Two of them went right over our head and out of the park. Poor Shane Warne got a roasting from the crowd and us. He ended up going for 60 off 10 overs. Apparently he was taunting Twose with comments like your mother lives in a shit house. The crowd certainly let him know what we thought of him.

Alan Dale was our nearest fielder for New Zealand’s innings and we decided he was all right. He had a photo with Duncan. In the end we romped in with 5 wickets in hand and 6 overs to spare. It was a great atmosphere. We went down onto the pitch and the team came out onto the balcony and a large group of about 50 guys started an impromptu haka. It was the greatest feeling when the team acknowledged us. When you’re so far away from your home, I guess I felt like we were responsible for helping them win because of our support.

It really doesn’t matter now what happens because for a lot of us that was the key game and we won it in style. At the train station we met Stephen Fleming's dad. He was very nice to talk to. He let us into a few team secrets, and said they were feeling quietly comfortable. We’ll see soon!!

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