JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Brendon McCullum: The New Zealand team were broken after their heartbreaking loss to England in the WC final
Brendon McCullum captained New Zealand to the final in the 2015 World Cup but eventually lost to Australia. He stated that moving on from that loss was easier, than forgetting the result of the World Cup 2019 final that NZ lost on boundary count
It has been a week since England trumped New Zealand in the close World Cup 2019 final, but the wound is still fresh for the Kiwis, who have been finding it tough to digest the close loss. After the match and the Super Over both were tied in the summit clash, the hosts won the title on boundary count. While it left the Englishmen ecstatic, the Black Caps were distraught and dejected after the game.
Former Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum has now come out and stated that the team were "pretty broken" after the game last Sunday.
“That's the thing and it's going to be so difficult for those guys. I was lucky enough to have a beer with them in the changing room and they were pretty broken, that's for sure," McCullum was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz.
"They were also really proud of what they did and how well they played. Over the coming months and years, whilst it's still raw now, they'll understand just how magnificent that spectacle was. And for it to happen on the biggest of stages, to have played the hand that they played in that match is absolutely amazing," the former New Zealand opener added.
"It's a shame that we had to be on the wrong side of it but we certainly played our part and hopefully the success of Kane's team throughout the World Cup will continue to inspire the next generation of cricketers,” McCullum felt.
McCullum had led the side to the finals of the World Cup in 2015, only to see his team go down to Australia in the finals. He admitted that even though that loss had hurt, it was easier to move on from that game.
"It was a missed opportunity but I looked at the positives of the rest of the World Cup and what it did for the game in our country rather than focusing on that last moment," McCullum said of 2015.
"Yes, it would've been lovely to have been a World Cup champion but I've always said the game doesn't define you but it's the person and character you are. I was so pleased with how our team handled that loss, also the success throughout that tournament.
"It's a bit different (but) I thought they've handled themselves magnificently in the aftermath of that result,” the wicketkeeper batsman said.
He went on to add that luck wasn't in the team's favour, with an overthrow deflecting off Ben Stokes' bat for four overthrows in a crucial point of the game.
"I guess if you look at it the rules it may not have been the right call but it's just luck, that's how it works," he said. "There's nothing to say that if Ben Stokes was facing the last ball and he needed four off that rather two, he wouldn't have struck that low full-toss out of the ground."
