Australian cricket has lost the fear factor, says Kiwi batter at center of underarm storm

“The Australian mentality in the 1980s was ‘we’ll beat anyone in front of us’. It was a team ethos and it’s always been that way with [Ricky] Bridging and [Michael] Clarke and [Adam] Gilchrist. There is now [New Zealand] players with experience and mental strength that hasn’t always been there.

“When [Australia] played us, I guess we were a bit awkward to play. New Zealand started to meet a bit of resistance along the way.

“Aussie is considered the big brother; we are considered the little brother. The little brother may be boxing above his weight. We have been playing very good cricket for some time in all formats and Australians know that.

Edgar stopped short of saying a Kiwis win would be revenge for what happened 40 years ago, but admitted it may have been on the minds of some players who featured that day looking at New Zealand.

“There could be the odd one out,” Edgar said. “They will talk about it from time to time, but that’s not the goal. I think we have matured as a nation in a way.

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Meanwhile, Smith, who struck 9th in the game in 1981, said the New Zealanders would love nothing more than to upset their trans-Tasman rivals.

“I think there’s still a bit of lingering animosity,” he said. “Not so much from the players. There would still be groups of older fans who remember [the underarm delivery] very good.

“Of course they faced each other in the 2015 World Cup final on the same ground [as the underarm game], in which we were not very good [Australia won by seven wickets]. We have a lot of expectations and a lot of disappointments but, this time around, there is a lot of hope that we will make it.

“It would be huge. When it comes to one-on-one [matches] we usually come out second best more often than not. I don’t remember that we won too many. From a personal perspective…it would be nice to pull one off. We got closer.

“I am not sure [emotion] will come to the surface, but I think Australians will feel more comfortable. It is the opposition that we did not want to play but the one that we want to beat. It would be very nice for us.

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