Cricket World Cup 2015: Brendon McCullum vows fearless style won't be altered after New Zealand are beaten by Australia in final

Australia won by seven wickets at the MCG

Australia's batsman Michael Clarke (R) shakes hands with New Zealand's captain Brendon McCullum in his last cricket one-day international as Australia close in on a World Cup final victory (GETTY IMAGES)

In defeat that could hardly have been heavier given the occasion, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum personified graciousness. He paid tribute to his counterpart, Michael Clarke, and conceded without equivocation that the best team won.

“It came down to one game,” he said. “We gave ourselves that opportunity in this tournament with so much on the line, and ultimately Australia stepped up and were too good for us on the night. It’s a credit to them that they were able to do so on a big occasion.”

New Zealand were run over by a juggernaut which hit top gear in the first over. It was like watching Dennis Weaver being hunted down in the old Steven Spielberg movie Duel.

But McCullum insisted his team would continue to play the style of cricket which has lit up the 11th World Cup.

“No, no, you don’t change your style of play,” he said. “For us to develop into the team that we want to be in international cricket, we have to play like that. There’s an element of fearlessness about how we play, and I think if you ask most of the teams in this tournament what they think of how we’ve played the game, they would be very respectful of how we’ve gone about it.”

He was absolutely right there. And he reiterated what a marvellous time it had been. “We’ve been on an incredible journey. We’ve loved every single minute of it. We’ve created memories and friendships which will last for the rest of our lives.”

For Australia the moment of deserved victory was marked by memories of the late Phillip Hughes, who might have been in this squad.

“It makes it more special, there’s no doubt about it,” Clarke said. “I think Hughesy is thought about and spoken about on a daily basis. The last couple of months, for me personally, it’s probably been harder than when he first passed away.”

He knew why Australia had won and, considering the whole tournament was such a runfest, it was perhaps surprising. “Our bowlers have won us the World Cup,” he said. “Our batters certainly stood up and grabbed their opportunities, but our bowling performance in every single game has been exceptional, and none better than today.” Mitchell Starc was voted Player of the Tournament.

Australia were superb in the relentless way they went about dismantling New Zealand’s game. But it was accompanied by equally relentless verbal antics, led by Brad Haddin. Clarke cocked a deaf’un.

“I can’t remember a player getting a send-off,” he said. “Maybe I was too far from the action. Obviously, it’s a World Cup final. There’s passion, there’s excitement, there’s adrenalin running through the guys’ bodies.

“You cop as good as you give. I know this team has copped a fair bit of stick throughout this World Cup. Boys have got long memories. Maybe there was something there. I’m not too sure. But I don’t think there was anything that was below the belt.”

Not below the belt, perhaps, but above it in a sneering fashion. It slightly demeaned a brilliant performance.