Cricket World Cup opening ceremony 'mesmerising', 'quirky'

Duncan Johnstone08:36, Feb 13 2015

Sky Sport

A mixture of cricket, culture and comedy, here are highlights from the Cricket World Cup opening ceremony.

New Zealand got a big tick of approval from media around the globe for its Cricket World Cup opening ceremony.

"Thunder Down Under" was one headline in India as they applauded the "booming" fireworks display to complete a memorable evening at Christchurch's Hagley Park. Another media outlet in cricket-crazy India described the night as "mesmerising".

"Australia and New Zealand are ready to welcome back the ICC Cricket World Cup after a gap of 23 years. Much has changed over the years, but the exuberance of people Down Under for the sport has not," reported Shubhodeep Chakravarty for NDTV.com.

1 of 14Iain McGregor
PARTY TIME: The Cricket World Cup opening ceremony lights up Hagley Park.

2 of 14Iain McGregor
SILHOUETTES: Performers at the Cricket World Cup opening ceremony.

3 of 14Iain McGregor
TOP PERFORMANCE: Hayley Westenra sang You Raise Me Up at the Cricket World Cup opening ceremony in Hagley Park, Christchurch.

4 of 14Iain McGregor
STAGE LIGHT: The stage lights up at the Cricket World Cup opening ceremony.

5 of 14Iain McGregor
WONDERFUL EVENING: The sun sets on Hagley Park, Christchurch, as the Cricket World Cup opening ceremony gets under way

6 of 14Iain McGregor
DRESSED APPROPRIATELY: Jeremy Matthews is kitted out in his whites, cricket pads and gloves for the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup at Hagley Park, Christchurch.

7 of 14Iain McGregor
TWO LEADERS: Prime Minister John key and New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum pose at the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup.

8 of 14Iain McGregor
THE STAGE: Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel speaks on stage at the opening ceremony.

9 of 14Iain McGregor
FATHER AND SON: New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum with his son at the world cup opening ceremony.

10 of 14Iain McGregor
BIG BASH: A cricket match is under way at the Cricket World Cup opening ceremony.

11 of 14Iain McGregor
INDO-PAKISTANI RELATIONS: A couple of cricket fans wearing Indian shirts wave a Pakistani flag at the Cricket World Cup opening ceremony.

12 of 14Iain McGregor
BIG CROWD: Punters pack Hagley Park for the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup.

13 of 14Iain McGregor
COLOUR SPLASH: A dance troupe brings a splash of colour to the Cricket World Cup opening ceremony.

14 of 14Iain McGregor
GEARING UP: Punters pack Hagley Park for the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup.

Britain's Daily Mail described New Zealand's effort as "quirky" and liked the variety of Maori warriors sharing the stage with Morris dancers.

The significance of Christchurch's ability to rebound from its tragic earthquake and feature so prominently in a global sport event was also noted.

"Thursday's ceremony, which set the stage for the 20th Cricket World Cup, celebrating the love of cricket and the cultures of the competing nations, equally celebrated Christchurch's resilience as it literally lifted itself from ruins to host the opening and opening match of cricket's four-yearly festival," reported the Daily Mail.

Another report noted Christchurch's disappointment at missing out on involvement in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but suggested the city had "more than made up for that" with their cricket effort.

Specialist cricket website CricInfo applauded the "community-focused" event and the "carnival atmposphere".

The ceremony struck a note with Pakistan's Express Tribune which described the evening as "awe-inspiring".

And there was approval for the appearance of local hero and All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.

READ MORE: McCaw and Fleming in high-five fail

Many news agencies in the world's cricketing strongholds carried live blogs of the ceremony and reports today featured impressive videos and photo galleries.

Tim Cleary was a harsh critic on The Guardian's live blog in Britain, though he gave New Zealand a win over Australia for the dual ceremonies carried out on either side of The Tasman.

"It was rubbish. The Aussie bit anyway," he declared as he wrapped up a long stint at his keyboard.

"The Kiwi part was okay. It moved pretty quickly. The Aussie bit couldn't have been more cliched and flat-out stone boring had they put Daryl Braithwaite on stage singing Howzat. Which of course they did."

He did provide a fair bit of humour for his readers though. New Zealand band Shapeshifter were lost on him "but then you can't keep dragging out Dave Dobbin. At some stage you have to move on from Slice of Heaven".

And he added a touch of political satire to his report, too: "And here's John Key, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, and the people actually applaud him. Hasn't happened in Australia for a good few years. If Tony Abbott walked out now they'd throw animals at him, marsupials, big ones."

Scroll down to view the Stuff.co.nz live blog recap: As it happened: Cricket World Cup opening ceremony.

Stuff