The skipper of the New Zealand National Cricket Team, Kane Williamson has revealed the reason behind sending Martin Guptill and James Neesham in the Super Over during the final of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. New Zealand had a glorious World Cup run in 2019 as they finished as the runners-up of the tournament. However, what irks them the most is how the tournament came to a close.
The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup final became the most enthralling world cup final that the cricketing world has ever witnessed. England emerged as the champions for the first time in the tournament at Lord’s beating New Zealand in the final by way of scoring more boundaries in the game. It was an astonishing final as the teams weren’t separated after the stipulated overs and even after the super over.
Now, Kane Williamson has revealed the reason as to why he sent James Neesham and Martin Guptill to play the super over for New Zealand in the final.
Kane Williamson Reveals The Reason Behind Sending Martin Guptill And James Neesham In The Super Over Of The 2019 World Cup Final
The Blackcaps were given a total of 16 runs to chase from the super over. Jofra Archer was going to bowl the over as Williamson threw his last dice at the playing area.
“I had a very brief discussion with the coach Gary Stead, I had a few guys in my mind who could go out to bat as we were going to bat second in the Super Over, the decision to send out batsmen was dependent on how much we were chasing and who the bowler is probably going to be,” Kane Williamson told Ravichandran Ashwin on the spinner`s YouTube show titled ‘DRS with Ash’.
“It was about giving yourself with the best possible opportunity, Neesham was hitting the ball very well throughout the World Cup and we all know how capable Guptill really is of hitting the ball out of the park, there was a short boundary on one side of the ground. They are both quicks between the 22 yards so this helped too,” Williamson recalled.
I Was About To Come At Number Three: Kane Williamson
The Kiwi skipper also revealed that he was the next man to bat if a wicket was lost. However, that wasn’t required as Guptill was run out on the last ball of the super over, handing over England the World Cup for the first time.
“I was padded up to come in at three, it was a different experience to be a part of, both Neesham and Guptill did a good job, Jofra Archer is a remarkable bowler, emotions were so high after the final, it was a long tournament when the time comes and it finishes, it`s like of a draining feeling as all of it finishes. The guys were filled with emotion after what really transpired,” Williamson said.
England won their first-ever ICC world cup beating the Kiwis in the final. The BlackCaps, on the other hand, lost their second consecutive World Cup final, losing it out to Australia in the 2015 edition.