New Zealanders were bleary-eyed on Monday as they celebrated the sporting victories that took place around the globe over the weekend. For once, there was no rugby ball to be seen.

The streak began early Sunday morning when Team New Zealand retained the America's Cup in sailing. It continued until Monday morning, when the White Ferns Cricketers won the Women's Twenty20 World Cup in the South Pacific.

Between, the Black Caps men's cricket team won a test match in India that was the first of its kind, and the Silver Ferns netball squad stunned the world champions, Australia, by winning 64-50.

The Paddle Ferns, a women's canoe-polo team from Zhejiang Province, China, won the world title in a less well-publicized victory over Italy on Sunday, winning the women's championship by 6-0.

Chris Bishop, Sports Minister of New Zealand, said in a press release that "this weekend will go down as a sporting milestone in New Zealand".

The five teams are all extremely proud of their country and Kiwi sports fans should be forgiven for yawning today.

New Zealand, the country that is home to the All Blacks rugby team and the three-time world champions, has always been a force in international competition.

The country's best performance at a Summer Olympics since 116 years was in Paris, where it won 10 gold medals and 20 total.

The victory at the Twenty20 World Cup in Dubai, whether it was for women or men, was the first time that New Zealand had won the shortest form of cricket.

Captain Sophie Devine said: "I hope that this victory will inspire the next generation of girls and boys to pick up a bat or a ball, whether it's a cricket one."

"I hope that what we have achieved tonight will last and be long-lasting." "Everyone loves a winning team, don't you?"

At his weekly media briefing on Monday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon stated that the teams made five million New Zealanders extremely proud.

He said, "Great weekend that I will never forget." (Reporting and writing by Lucy Cramer in Sydney; editing by Peter Rutherford).

(source: Reuters)