Cricket World Cup: Kiwis gear up for the World Cup showdown

Spectators watch the Black Caps at the Auckland Fanzone. Photo / Getty Images

Auckland’s Fanzone at Britomart has been extended for Sunday’s crunch match

Thousands of Black Caps supporters are expected to head to fanzones around New Zealand to support their heroes on Sunday.

Eight games after the team began their Cricket World Cup journey - which included a nail-biting pool match against Australia and Tuesday night's historic semifinal victory over South Africa - Kiwis are gearing up for the final battle.

The match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will be New Zealand's first Cricket World Cup final.

On this side of the ditch, councils have prepared for large crowds at public viewing areas in main centres.

Auckland's Fanzone at Britomart's Takutai Square has been extended for Sunday's match.

About 1000 people have gathered in the area for every World Cup game involving India, and around 1100 attended the Black Caps' clash with Australia in the pool stage, Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development agency said.

A giant New Zealand flag had also been unfurled in downtown Auckland in support of Brendon McCullum and his men. The 128sq m flag was draped across Queen St yesterday.

In Wellington, fans were expected to flock to Civic Square where a giant screen would show the match and buildup. As with the Auckland Fanzone, the capital's would be an alcohol-free area.

The Victoria Square Fanzone in Christchurch, which has a capacity of 5000 people, had a similar set-up, with a big screen, food and beverage vendors on site and free entry.

About 4000 people watched the quarterfinal against the West Indies at the square, and authorities expected even more on Sunday.

Meanwhile, overwhelming Black Caps support has been affecting both the retail and travel industries.

Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia have organised extra flights to Melbourne from Auckland to cope with a surge in demand.

Virgin said it scheduled 10 extra transtasman flights after Tuesday's semifinal, while Air New Zealand organised an extra flight from Auckland to the Victorian capital at 8.30am on Sunday. The airline's earlier additional Saturday flight from Auckland to Melbourne had already sold out.

Passengers on Jetstar also seemed to be experiencing Black Caps fever, with the airline saying its sales numbers jumped within moments of Grant Elliott's match-winning six against South Africa at Eden Park.

Accommodation in Melbourne was also running low.

Expedia says demand for Melbourne this weekend is 200 per cent higher than at the same time last year.

Hotel booking site wotif.com told the Age newspaper any remaining rooms in Melbourne would "sell out fast" after yesterday's semifinal.

There were no tickets currently for sale through official channels for the final, as of yesterday afternoon.

Game day

The weather

Fine, 15-20km/h S to SW winds by afternoon

The odds
New Zealand at $2.25 to win