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The World Cup 2019 final re-run was the "worst thing that I've watched on TV": Jimmy Neesham
New Zealand lost a cliff-hanger in the finals to England last month, losing the World Cup 2019 final on boundary count. After the 50-over game and the Super Over ended with both teams on equal points, England were declared the winners as they had hit more fours in the game.
The disappointment of the World Cup 2019 final took almost a month to get over, but the memories of the fateful day came back to haunt New Zealand all-rounder when he "accidentally" stumbled upon the re-run on TV a few days ago. New Zealand lost a cliff-hanger in the finals to England last month, losing the final on boundary count. After the 50-over game and the Super Over ended with both teams on equal points, England were declared the winners as they had hit more fours in the game.
Neesham, who was batting in the Super Over, where the Black Caps needed 16 for a win, could not help his side over the line, which left the Kane Williamson-led side in despair.
"There was a montage (of the World Cup final) that played during the first Ashes Test when it was raining. I’ve seen that. It was awful. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever watched.
"Every time I think about it I remember another thing that was astronomically unlucky that happened. There’s about seven or eight in a row. It’s almost a little bit surreal."
Neesham admitted that luck always plays a huge role in sports, and that luck was not on their side on July 14.
"It’s all just trying to ride the waves of that luck. You look at someone like Ben Stokes in that last five overs: was he lucky? Yeah, he was incredibly lucky, but it wasn’t lucky that he was there on 85 not out giving himself the opportunity to have that luck. That’s all you can really do is work as hard as you can to give yourself the chance to be lucky. And then you just have to shrug your shoulders and go it wasn’t our day, that day."
When asked about what he and Martin Guptill, who was left distraught after New Zealand lost the final, spoke about after the loss, he added, "I told him that it is not the end of the world."
"I think I said, "you’ll be right mate". Then I said, "100% effort is all we ask for. And if you give 100% effort you take what comes". No one is going to be hurting more. There’s no point telling him don’t worry about it, or we’re proud of you, or anything like that. You just have to remind them that it’s not the end of the world," Neesham said.
