MELBOURNE: Australian players sheltered behind dark glasses today at a public reception the day after their victory over New Zealand in the final of the Cricket World Cup.
Captain Michael Clarke carried the World Cup trophy and, as the players mounted the stage in front of thousands of fans at open-air Federation Square, they smiled wanly and waved to the crowd.
Clarke was asked what the over-riding emotion was on the day after Australia had achieved its fifth World Cup and he grinned and said: "We're all a bit hung over to be honest."
It had been a late night. Australian newspapers and websites ran photographs Monday of coach Darren Lehmann and players, still in team uniform, holding the trophy on a hotel balcony as the sun rose over Melbourne.