In England's north-west they often refer to the the regular meetings between football clubs Liverpool and Everton as the Friendly Derby. The Merseyside rivalry is not without spice - the red and blue sides of the city are very much in competition with each other, fiercely so - but it's without the intensity, and sometimes violence among fans, brought on by other local derbies across the continent.

The same might be said of Australia's rivalry with New Zealand in cricket, as infrequently as it's actually been played out in recent years. And how both sets of players conducted themselves in the hours and days after one of the sport's greatest tragedies has only served to strengthen a mutual respect that lies beneath a desire to win at all costs.

When Phillip Hughes' death was announced last November, it did not go missing on the Australians, in shock and grief, what happened not long afterwards half a world away in Sharjah. New Zealand were playing a Test match, the third of a series, against Pakistan, and the teams not only observed a minute's silence, and wore black armbands, but abandoned the second day's play out of respect to Hughes.

Days later, when vision of Hughes' funeral made its way to the New Zealanders in their hotel rooms, they were absorbed, particularly when Michael Clarke got up to speak.

"The way he carried himself and spoke on behalf the team, that earned him adulation and respect from not just Australian people but also people around the world," Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum said on Friday.

"We were certainly in awe of how he was able to control that and handle himself during that time."

The pleasantries don't mean Saturday's World Cup clash at Eden Park will be a social game between mates. There will be no moratorium on sledging or anything, not that the Kiwis engage in it, they say, with plenty on the line rather than simply pride: first spot in Pool A will almost certainly be claimed by the winner.

However, after a summer of repeated flare-ups in matches between Australia and India, it's clear this is a tete-à-tete with a different tone, and the passing of Hughes only reinforced that.

"I think both teams will compete hard on the field, we always have against each other. But I think there's that mutual respect, that we get on really well off the field," Clarke said.

"I've got a great relationship with Brendon and have played a lot of cricket against him over both our careers. I obviously have the utmost respect for the people of New Zealand, and especially Brendon and his team, in the way they showed that extra respect to Phillip and Phillip's family when he passed.

"I think the respect has always been there, I just think probably because of my relationship with Phillip. I have the utmost respect for the whole country and the way they shared the grief that everybody was feeling and that respect to his family."

Whether Clarke's team is received with the same respect by 40,000-odd locals at Eden Park is another story. Australia certainly aren't expecting the red carpet to be rolled out for them, and in that way they're likely to get a taste of what that other national team, the Wallabies, are treated to whenever they visit the rugby stadium.

Australia's record here is significantly better; while the Wallabies haven't beaten the All Blacks at the venue since 1986, Australia won in their last two starts in Auckland during the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series five years ago.

"I'm sure we're going to get heckled from the crowd but that's a really good part of playing away from home, experiencing that," Clarke said. "I've been fortunate to play for a few years now and experience it all around the world. I know the guys are excited about a full house tomorrow and experiencing the New Zealand crowds."

Saturday's game is only a pool encounter - there are more important days ahead in the new few weeks for both teams, quite possibly against each other - but the hype generated across the ditch has been contagious.

"There's fanfare and anticipation with this game, it is big," McCullum said. "But I feel the guys are in a good space. I don't think we'll be overawed or anything like that."