How important was NZ's win and will Sri Lanka bounce back? The Herald's cricket writers answer the big questions.

It was Valentine's Day yesterday and New Zealand were feeling the love after the World Cup co-hosts kicked.

Yesterday's World Cup opener between New Zealand and Sri Lanka was a line-in-the-sand game and the Black Caps delivered through composure and pressure.

The early rounds of the World Cup have a phony-war feel to them but they will help determine one crucial aspect.

It's easy to forget, especially for someone predicting a meeting of South Africa and New Zealand - two sides who have never made the final.

New Zealand Cricket have pinpointed talent identification and coaching development as weaknesses to address, despite being on the cusp of a halcyon era.

On a tide of national goodwill, Brendon McCullum delivered the catalyst for New Zealand's victory against Sri Lanka at Hagley Park yesterday.

Black Caps fans left Christchurch's Hagley Oval beaming with delight after Brendon McCullum's men smashed Sri Lanka in the World Cup opener yesterday.

Every ball, every run, every wicket from the opening game of the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

Years of scientific research will lie hidden behind every Black Caps ball sent hurtling down the pitch at Christchurch's Hagley Oval tomorrow.

I was fortunate enough to play in three World Cups, yet I think the current Black Caps squad would easily dispose of any of those World Cup teams I played in, writes Jacob Oram.

Sat on his roller, Rupert Bool takes a break from compressing his cherished cricket pitch and reveals how daunting it is to produce a picture-perfect pitch.

Campbell Burnes sat down with College Sport chief executive Dave Currie, who has been in the job just a few months. This is part one of a two-part interview; read the second in next week's College Sport.

With a career bowling average of 27 and an economy rate under five per over, Kyle Mills should be a guaranteed selection in the Black Caps' first-choice playing XI for the World Cup.

Pakistan's mercurial nature make them hard to dominate but New Zealand sustained control last night for all but the blip of a Shahid Afridi batting cameo in their seven-wicket victory.

Pakistan were dismissed for 210 in their opening one-day international against New Zealand at Westpac Stadium in Wellington this afternoon.

One sub-plot to the Cricket World Cup story arc is that it could double as Daniel Vettori's valedictory tour.

Sri Lanka have kept the intrigue alive for the unofficial eighth match of their one-day international series to take place in Christchurch on February 14 at the World Cup.

New Zealand has a problem at the top of their batting order.