New Zealand's rock bottom came on January 2, 2013, soon after Brendon McCullum had controversially taken over as skipper from Ross Taylor.
They were humiliated on the first day of the first Test against South Africa in Cape Town, steamrolled for 45 inside 20 overs after opting to bat first.
As McCullum spoke on the eve of New Zealand's first World Cup final, just two years later, he said he would not change what happened that day at Newlands.
"At that point of time it was a tough space to be in, I look back and say I wouldn't have changed it. It gave us ability to strip right back. It allowed us to get to where we are at and refocus on what is important to us, and develop as cricketers and people as well."
Statistics can do a lot of talking in cricket.
Since their rock-bottom moment, New Zealand have played 53 ODIs for 30 wins and 17 losses. This summer the win percentage improves, with 17 victories and six losses from 25 matches.
New Zealand have lost just two of their past 19 ODIs, including eight straight victories to propel them into Sunday night's World Cup final against Australia in Melbourne.
And it is not just the one-day game which has lifted in those 26 months.
New Zealand have a winning Test record, with eight wins, eight draws and four losses in 20 matches since that fateful series loss to South Africa. Two of those 20 matches were against Bangladesh away, otherwise all opposition were established Test nations, and New Zealand won at home and away.
"It wasn't so long ago that we weren't in a great space in international cricket, we went through some pretty tough times, but that allowed us to be totally honest with where we sat in the international game and how we were viewed not just within New Zealand, but externally as well, as cricketers and people," McCullum said, acknowledging the poor public image of the team.
"We also developed a style of play which gave us the best chance of success against big teams. We stripped back, plotted a way forward, and it's almost been the perfect road back.
"We'd had some tough times along the way and lost some personnel on the way, but I think what we've got now is a group of guys – not just on the field but backroom staff, on the periphery – who are all desperate to make a difference in the time they have in this game."
The mix of the team, with strong leaders across the board, was a key factor.
"Some of our strongest leaders are the younger guys, you look at Kane Williamson and Tim Southee. I think a good thing about this team is that age doesn't guarantee you a leadership role," he said.
"It's about how you carry yourself, how you perform, the overall package. I look around the changing room and I see a lot of leaders, even some of the fresher guys in the side possess all the traits. That's been one of the real things we've been able to embed."
That won't stop with this World Cup. He is unequivocal; this team hasn't reached its final destination.
"We're all on the same bus heading in the same direction, and that allows us to be instinctive and brave on the field because you know you're going to get total buy-in from the group," said McCullum, who hoped the World Cup campaign – and the general success of co-hosting the tournament –would "reinvigorate" cricket in New Zealand, irrespective of the result of their first cup final appearance.
He felt their attacking, aggressive brand of cricket, based on humility, is what New Zealanders enjoyed most about the team.
"It won't stop at the end of the tournament, we know we've still got a lot of hard work to do to achieve what we want to and be where we want to stand in international cricket. But we've made a good start."
