The last time mighty Australia rolled into Auckland for a Cricket World Cup match, just over 23 years ago, they left with their tails between their legs.

If it's not rugby and the All Blacks aren't winning by 17 points with 11 minutes to go, you'll be hard-pressed to hear a New Zealand crowd using their epithelium vocal folds to support their team.

As Auckland welcomes the Black Caps ahead of crunch match with Australia, Captain Brendon McCullum jokes he can't escape the World Cup, even on his days off.

Modern-day sledging is utterly charmless, simply not funny or clever any more, and is just verbal assault.

Ahead of this Saturday's Black Caps v Australia fixture at Eden Park, we look back on three of the more infamous moments from previous clashes between the sides.

Eden Park's crowd has received an open invitation to get rough with the verbals at Australia's players in Saturday's World Cup showdown.

In the wake of England's humiliating defeat, exiled batsmen Kevin Pietersen posted a timely video of himself enjoying a holiday in Barbados.

Brendon McCullum's men won the game with 226 balls to spare. Predictably, the English media have got the knives out. Here's a sample of what's being said back in the Old Country.

New Zealand have put together arguably their most uncompromising display in a World Cup match against a test-playing nation, demolishing England by eight wickets with, and this is not a misprint, 37.4 overs to spare.

No one hates an England defeat more than the English media. And as you'd expect, the backlash was quick and it was fierce.

Today's one-day international between the Black Caps and England could be decided by the guile of the pace attacks.

From my experience in tournament play, there will be injuries or form loss along the way and it's important guys such as Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum are ready to go.

NZ are rolling along nicely and England are all over the shop, but the Black Caps are sure to have their guard up when the teams meet on Friday, writes David Leggatt.

Picture this: you're huddled over a laptop with your mates in a hotel room while around the other side of the world someone is forking out over $800,000 for you to do a few weeks' work with a cricket ball.

It was not pretty, but the Black Caps scraped past Scotland by three wickets yesterday in the first of three Cricket World Cup matches in Dunedin.

New Zealand are two from two at the Cricket World Cup after beating Scotland by three wickets at University Oval today.

The New Zealand Herald's expert sports panel provides commentary on all the action at University Oval in Dunedin.

New Zealand swing man Trent Boult has scooped a top contract in this year’s Indian Premier League.

Expect a torrent of runs in this World Cup. In the first five games of the tournament, the sides batting first - New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, India and the West Indies - have piled up....