Is Brad Haddin for real? Or just an idiot?

Or was he just so liquored up after a night out he provided, on Sydney morning radio, the most ridiculous explanation for sledging the Black Caps in the history of, well, sledging.

Apparently, the Black Caps were just so nice to the Australians, not just during the match back in February but in the week leading up to the game at Eden Park, that Haddin couldn't stand it anymore.

Therefore when the rematch came in the final, New Zealand just had to get a gobful.

So what does that tell us about the culture of the Australian cricket team?

Well not all of them, but certainly among a group of them there is a serious lack of class, sophistication and humanity.

Heaven forbid that someone would play the game with good manners.

The concept of batting, bowling and fielding without insulting your opponents doesn't seem to figure in the thinking of Brad Haddin.

Where most cricketers, indeed most normal beings, have a space between the ears from where grace and humility are exhibited, Brad Haddin just seems to have a space.

The overheard comments from cricket fans around the eating precincts of Melbourne the day after the final suggest that the Australian wicketkeeper is a bit of an embarrassment to his countrymen.

The general tenor seemed to be " jeez, they won fair and square, no need to rub it in by making a dick of yourself."

To insult Grant Elliott seems especially distasteful.

To give him lip after a fine knock in the final - and there's photographic evidence of Haddin and David Warner leading the chorus - seems totally pointless.

What more do they want? They'd got him out. Did they want him to break his leg as well?

Compare all that to when Michael Clarke was out. As he walked off through mid wicket, Brendon McCullum sprinted across from the offside to make a very public show of congratulating Clarke not just on his innings, but on his stellar career in One Day Internationals.

The day after the final, Grant Elliott faced the final press conference of the World Cup.

In his modest, understated way he brushed off the sledging. In the form he's in at the moment, a James Faulkner slower ball is obviously of far more danger to him than a somewhat deranged Australian wicketkeeper.

Australia were the best cricket team at this World Cup.