Melbourne, Mar 29: New Zealand have players who will retire from cricket but will be gracious in defeat and allow Australia to bask in their World Cup triumph, Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum said Sunday.
In a refreshing dose of sporting humility, McCullum said the New Zealand team had no intention of grabbing the headlines off the rejoicing Australians and would do so when "the dust settles".
In front of a record crowd of 93,013 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, clinical Australia bowled out the Black Caps for 183 and then cruised to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory in the 34th over.
Australian captain Michael Clarke, who announced his retirement from the one-day format on the eve of the final, hit 74 in his last one-day international, triggering what is expected to be a number of retirements across the competing teams.
Senior player Daniel Vettori, at 36, is one Black Cap rumoured to be quitting, and even 33-year-old McCullum has been mentioned, but the skipper would not divulge names in the wake of New Zealand's defeat.
"There are maybe guys within our group who will retire," McCullum told reporters after the final.
"We'll let the dust settle on this one and we certainly won't look to grab any headlines over the next couple of days because they belong to Australia as they've deserve the right.    AFP