New Zealand Champions Trophy 2009

New Zealand want one more team performance

If ever in cricket a side has decisively shifted the emphasis from the individual battles that form each contest to the more collaborative jousts that shape the broader battle, it is New Zealand. They've had great individuals to be sure, but more times than not, their triumphs have been built on a number of smaller, lesser celebrated individual wins, especially the modern-day New Zealand. If not always an attractive or thrilling trait, it is an endlessly admirable one.

Only the captain has been a man apart, a giant among giants. He has an embedded slacker cool about him, so if you saw him jamming with the early 90s Beck somewhere he wouldn't seem out of place. In a way more stable than it seems, he's been many things over two weeks; brooding, spiky, witty, intelligent and understated. The beard and deep voice adds gravitas, but his performances haven't needed it. He has scored runs when they have needed scoring and his bowling has been so good it's hardly been noticed.

New Zealand have been, for the longest time, honest semi-finalists. This is their first big tournament final since the 2000 Champions Trophy and that was the only other time they made a final in a global event. "I think you have achieved what you set out to achieve but once you reach that level you realise there is immense desire to go all the way," said Vettori. "There's no relief in the camp and after the win last night, it was all about how we are going win tomorrow as opposed to it's great we made it. It's pleasing for me as captain to hear those sentiments and make sure we put it in practice tomorrow."

They will be up against it tomorrow, but they have survived and thrived on that through this tournament. They have done it so long as a cricket nation, it is probably a default setting. But in this tournament, the real surprise would be if there was no surprise at all tomorrow at Centurion.