Dejected New Zealand players with captain Kane Williamson (left) after 2019 World Cup final loss. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Some painful memories may have surfaced for New Zealand cricket fans on the eve of the World Cup in India.
The Black Caps meet England in the opening game of the tournament in the 132,000 seat Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday night.
It's a replay of the 2019 final which England won in controversial fashion.
The scores were tied after 50 overs and also tied after the super over, England were then awarded the title on the boundary countback rule.
New Zealand do have nine members of that 2019 squad in India.
They say they've put the 2019 disappointment behind them, but there has to be a feeling of unfinished business.
Outplayed in the 2015 final, the Black Caps had their best chance of glory four years later and this year there are a number of players that are entering the twilight of their careers.
Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Matt Henry they have the experience, while there are potential game breakers in Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell, who are playing their first 50-over World Cup.
Despite not winning the recent series against England, Black Caps coach Gary Stead feels they showed enough against the defending champions to take confidence into the tournament.
"The positive thing for this team is we've shown in the last month that we can beat England who are one of the best teams in the world.
"You don't have to beat them every day, you just have to beat them on certain days."
England Captain Eoin Morgan lifts the ICC Cricket World Cup trophy as England celebrate winning in 2019 final against New Zealand Black Caps. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
England also has plenty of experience in their squad with players returning from 2019 and also their victorious 2022 T20 World Cup squad.
Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Joe Root have all done it before.
Coach Matthew Mott believes his side can be considered a contender again.
However the most important thing for him is to make the top four.
"With World Cups it's about putting yourself into those semi-finals and then you can do anything from there.
"Luck and timing play a huge part in that, so our job is to make sure the first port of call is New Zealand in that first game and then reset."
Despite not winning a limited overs tournament since 2013, India are once again favourites for the World Cup.
The side is stacked with stars like Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah.
They're the number one ranked side and are playing at home.
Devon Conway of New Zealand appealing for the wicket Surya Yadav of India in 2023. Photo by: Saikat Das / SPORTZPICS for BCCI Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Captain Rohit Sharma says his team are ignoring the predictions India will repeat their championship deeds of 2011 when the tournament was last staged in the sub-continent.
"We play cricket on the present day and not worry about what has happened in the past or in terms of the ranking, where we stand and stuff like that.
"For us everybody doing their job, putting their hand up when the team needs them to do it."
Never discount Australia even though just one of their five titles have come in Asia.
Pace bowler Mitchell Starc says his side have the experience to perform well there.
"Different parts of India are going to throw up different challenges, so it's about adapting as quickly as you can and quicker than the opposition.
"It's a different beast tournament play so a lot of other nations have eyes on the world cup."
Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka will play a round-robin format with the top four qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Seven wins will get a side through, although New Zealand snuck into the last four in 2019 with five wins and a no result.
The Cricket World Cup final is on 19 November.
