Almost nothing will be able to put a permanent smile on the faces of New Zealanders right now, but Daniel Vettori knows the national cricket team has the ability to at least extract a few grins out of a grieving nation with victory over arch rivals Australia at Nagpur, India, tomorrow.
After steamrolling Kenya by 10 wickets in their first group A match, New Zealand's World Cup campaign steps up several notches against the three-time defending champions, but they will take the field with heavy hearts following Tuesday's 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch.
More than 70 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds more are missing, devastating the country's second-largest city.
Captain Vettori acknowledged a win over Australia, who are coming off a first-up 91-run defeat of Zimbabwe, their 24th successive win in World Cup matches dating back to 1999, would provide a glimmer of light in what has been the darkest of weeks for New Zealand.
"The greatest thing we can do for a lot of people is to win our game against Australia," he said.
"I think that would bring a little bit of light relief to some people who are going through a tough time, and also as the team hopes to improve we know a big game like this against Australia is going to be so important."
Christchurch-based players Brendon McCullum and fast bowler Hamish Bennett were given the option of returning home but declined, while several management and support staff have family in Christchurch, where New Zealand Cricket is based.
Physio Dayle Shackel and trainer Bryan Stronach have travelled home.
"The guys will still be thinking about that, guys who have got wives and children at home who are dealing with the aftermath, so for these guys maybe it is going to be a little bit of a distraction but it's still going to be a testing time for everyone within the team," Vettori said.
"We are feeling it."
Adding to the motivational factors ahead of the match is the decision by the respective national bodies to put the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy on the line.
The trophy, which Australia hold, is usually contested for each season over a one-day series, but the two teams were unable to fit it into their schedules this summer.
Australia's chances of a fourth successive World Cup title - they won in 1999, 2003 and 2007 - have been written off in many quarters, largely because their pace battery is not ideally suited to the spin-friendly subcontinent conditions.
They were also unconvincing with the bat for large periods against Zimbabwe and struggled against the African spinners, but Vettori is reading little into that.
"They've proved themselves on the subcontinent a number of times so they're going to be one of the favourites for the tournament. It's more of a test for us, if we're going to do well over here we're going to have to best the likes of Australia."
Vettori's team is not in a position to underestimate anyone. Having lost 14 of 16 matches going into the tournament, they would not have gained much from the annihilation of Kenya, aside from a shot of confidence.
Hamish Bennett's return of four for 16 against Kenya means it will be hard for Kyle Mills to force his way back into the side, provided he has recovered from a back injury which kept him out of the group A opener.
Vettori and fellow spinner Nathan McCullum will play important roles with the ball, while subduing Australian speedsters Shaun Tait and Brett Lee early has been identified as key for the New Zealand batsmen.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting admitted it was hard to get a gauge of where they were at against a "weaker" team such as Zimbabwe.
"We know we'll have to improve and play better against New Zealand. We need to have our games and our own game plans sorted out for better spin attacks, but I think the more we play and the more we become accustomed to these conditions then the better we'll be."
Australia have won five of seven World Cup matches against New Zealand, the most recent of which was a 215-run thrashing at Grenada four years ago.
Results of cricket World Cup matches between New Zealand and Australia ahead of their group A fixture at Nagpur, India, tomorrow:
Played 7, NZ won 2, Australia won 5
Oct 1987 - Australia 199-4 (30 overs) beat New Zealand 196-9 (30 overs) by three runs at Indore, India
Oct 1987 - Australia 251-8 (50 overs) beat New Zealand 234 (48.4 overs) by 17 runs at Chandigarh, India
Feb 1992 - New Zealand 248-6 (50 overs) beat Australia 211 (48.1 overs) by 37 runs at Auckland
Mar 1996 - New Zealand 286-9 (50 overs) lost to Australia 289-4 (47.5 overs) by six wickets at Chennai, India
May 1999 - Australia 213-8 (50 overs) lost to New Zealand 214-5 (45.2 overs) by five wickets at Cardiff, Wales
Mar 2003 - Australia 208-9 (50 overs) beat New Zealand 112 (30.1 overs) by 96 runs at Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Apr 2007 - Australia 348-6 (50 overs) beat New Zealand 133 (25.5 overs) by 215 runs at St George's, Grenada
Overall: Played 124, NZ won 34, Australia won 84, abandoned 6
Teams for the group A cricket World Cup match between New Zealand and Australia at Nagpur, India, tomorrow:
BLACKCAPS: Daniel Vettori (captain), Hamish Bennett, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Luke Woodcock.
Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke, David Hussey, Cameron White, Tim Paine, Steve Smith, John Hastings, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Doug Bollinger, Callum Ferguson.
Umpires: Billy Doctrove (West Indies) and Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka)
TV umpire: Asad Rauf (Pakistan)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
- NZPA
