Black Caps bask in the love

26 March 2015 - 02:08 By Telford Vice in Auckland

The afterglow of New Zealand's win over South Africa in their World Cup semifinal at Eden Park on Tuesday shone warmly in Auckland yesterday. At the airport every television was tuned to a rebroadcast of the match, which the home side won by four wickets when SA-born Grant Elliott smashed the penultimate delivery, bowled by Dale Steyn, for six.Passengers awaiting flights could hardly tear themselves away from the screens - until the Black Caps themselves came strolling along en route to Melbourne for the final on Sunday.New Zealand, who are in the final for the first time, having lost six semifinals in previous editions of the tournament, will play the winner of today's semi between Australia and India.Shouts of "well done" and "bring it home" rang in the players' ears as they walked, and they could not take more than a few steps without stopping to sign an autograph or pose with fans for selfies.Spontaneous applause blossomed when the squad reached their boarding gate. The players politely thanked their admirers.An anguished postmortem is under way among South Africans, with Graeme Smith writing in his column on the International Cricket Council website: "In a tight game with so much at stake neither team is going to put in a flawless performance, but the Proteas missed the half-chances that counted and it ultimately cost them."Elliott's match-winning 84 not out was "the innings that will define his career on the biggest stage possible". New Zealand were the "better team on the day and have been the better team in the tournament so far".The devastated Proteas players, meanwhile, have disappeared from view and have maintained a stony silence on social media - although consultant Mike Horn tweeted yesterday: "Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose!"..

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