In this bonus episode of The Offspin podcast, Simon Day takes a walk around Eden Park with one of the most unlikely legends of New Zealand sporting history.

He probably shouldn’t have even been there. In the year before the 2015 Cricket World Cup, South African born Grant Elliott was a relatively obscure figure, in and out of the the Black Caps, he’d spent most of the recent seasons toiling away in domestic cricket.

But then opportunity knocked. He was elevated into the squad just before the World Cup, and then found a place in the middle order. And when the moment came – a semi-final at Eden Park against South Africa – he was there to hit the winning runs, a six that still reverberates through New Zealand cricketing lore.

For Simon Day, it was a very emotional moment. He was in the stands, having his demons from so many failed campaigns exorcised by Elliott’s bat. So he decided to take the opportunity to talk through that incredible moment with the man at the centre of it, at the place where it all happened.

On this episode, we also explore the various semi-final permutations that could arise from an increasingly tumultuous tournament. Will England be kicked out of their own party? Will Pakistan repeat the eerie similarities of 1992 and qualify from nowhere? And how frightening is the form of Mitchell Starc? All that and more on The Offspin.

Download this episode (right click and save), listen on the player below, subscribe on iTunes or via Spotify. Cricket World Cup audio courtesy of Sky Television. 

https://www.facebook.com/cricketworldcup/videos/1722899451079558/

For the six weeks of the Cricket World Cup, join hosts Simon Day, Alex Braae and a rotating squad of sloggers, change bowlers and outfielders on The Offspin after each of the New Zealand team’s games. With the Black Caps playing all their games at wildly inconvenient overnight times, Simon and Alex will be swapping sleep for cricket, then rolling into the studio to drink Coffee Supreme (proud sponsors of The Offspin) and offer their expert analysis of the World Cup.

Like, share and subscribe to The Offspin, and drink Coffee Supreme to keep you alive after long nights of cricket this World Cup.