Grant Elliott's dream comes true, almost

As a young boy growing up in Johannesburg, Grant Elliott dreamed of playing in a World Cup. Playing with an oversized bat, he envisioned himself hitting the winning six. The 1992 World Cup was a key passage in young Elliott's cricket awakening, and he remembers the match between South Africa and Australia because his mother let him stay home and watch it. February 26. It left an indelible mark. "A massive impression," he remembers.

The result of his mother's kindness was a brief suspension from cricket at school, but Elliott didn't mind. Watching his home team, South Africa, play in coloured clothing and beat Australia by nine wickets left Elliott with one aspiration - it was what he wanted to do.

Tonight, his dream came true. Well, almost, because there is a final to be won at the MCG in five days.

On a dazzling evening of seismic tension, Elliott's six off the penultimate ball of the World Cup semi-final took New Zealand past South Africa and to their first final. "It's funny how life works. It's amazing to be at Eden Park today and to hit the winning runs to take New Zealand into the final. It's been an awesome journey," said Elliot with a big smile.

It really was a dream for Elliott, because when the year began he was not in the ODI squad. Is he 2015's cricketing comeback story? So far, it sure looks that way. Since he played his first ODI for New Zealand in a year and a half on January 11, the 35-year-old has averaged 51.30 in 14 innings, scoring a century and two fifties. Against Sri Lanka in Dunedin, he and his Wellington team-mate Luke Ronchi smashed the record books in an unbeaten stand of 267 in 180 balls. Against Pakistan, he eased New Zealand home in a chase of 211 with 64 not out from 68 balls. There have been other plucky, crucial contributions. A series of 20s that allowed others to score quicker.

But this was something else. Elliott entered New Zealand's chase of a Duckworth-Lewis target of 298 in 43 overs during the 128 for 3 on the second ball of the 18th over. Brendon McCullum had powered the chase superbly, scoring 59 from 26 balls out of an opening stand of 71. But his dismissal was followed by the wickets of Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill. There were a lot of runs to chase. As Elliott put it, he was under a tremendous amount of pressure.

"I really did feel the pressure. I felt the pressure," he admitted. "I had two balls, Dan said we weren't going to run to the 'keeper again, so it was up to me. I had two balls to try and take us. I knew that four runs would do it because a tie was as good as a win, so that was always in the back of my mind. But I think the chase, we probably left it a little bit late to be honest, and it was stressful towards the end there. I think this game, it's amazing. Once you're in the zone and you're playing with freedom and you're not really thinking, then it's a great game. It's just see the ball, hit the ball, and that's something that you have to do towards the end."

During his monumental innings, Elliott drove, tucked, flicked, cut and blocked his way out of a hole. His confidence, on the face of it, was supreme. He lost Ross Taylor but found an ally in Corey Anderson, a fellow allrounder who made a brisk 58 in a stabilising century stand. That pushed South Africa back, and the partisan crowd cheered Elliott and Anderson's every move. He kept his wits, rode his luck. The backing-away pile-drive of a shot off Morkel past extra cover for four in the 42nd over was just awesome.

South Africa had chances to hurt New Zealand, but blew them. AB de Villiers failed to run out Corey Anderson. Quinton de Kock missed a simple run-out chance in the 41st over to allow Elliott a reprieve. De Villiers missed the stumps when Daniel Vettori was short. JP Duminy collided with Farhaan Behardien in the deep and a catch was spilled off Elliott. In the last over, de Kock missed the stumps when Elliott was desperately trying to get back on strike.

When he sized up Dale Steyn and hit a towering six over long-on to clinch a thriller, Elliott stretched out his arms and roared. Eden Park rose as one, 41,000 spectators. It was electric.

"I was looking to hit that ball for six or four," he said. "I was just going to line it up and wherever it was, it was going over the boundary, hopefully. I didn't want to be there 17 odd and not winning this game. That was not a position I wanted to be in. You don't premeditate with batting. The less you think, the better.

"I think that's the first moment that you actually feel a release of emotion. I think cricket is the sort of game where you have to be quite unemotional in your approach. Yeah, it was a great feeling. It was a great feeling to look at the team and look at the crowd and sort of savour that moment and realise that we're through to the finals."

De Villiers termed it the best shot of Elliott's career. Was it? "I guess it is," came a sheepish reply.

After he finished addressing the media and shaking hands with well-wishers, Elliott was escorted across the Eden Park field with two members of the team management and a couple of security guards. He was barefoot, walking across the dew-laced grass on which a short while ago he brought South Africa to their knees. All but a couple of lights were on, casting ghostly shadows across corners of this iconic cricket stadium. Tonight, under lights in the biggest match of his career, Elliott was luminous.

In those moments that he crossed the field in the dark, shoeless, the soles of his feet pressing against the grass beneath, Elliott was stripped down to one man on the high of his life. Eden Park has become his field of dreams. The young boy has grown up and realised his dream. Well, almost.