Former England captain Nasser Hussain praised the New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, who didn’t complain after their heartbreaking defeat in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 final. Hussain also claimed that the New Zealand team was the mirror image of their skipper.
On 14th July 2019, during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 final at Lord’s (London), New Zealand played their second Cricket World Cup final and that was against the hosts England. New Zealand batted first and scored 241/8 (50 overs). In reply, England also scored 241 runs in 50 overs.
During the final over of that second innings, there was one big controversy regarding the six runs, out of which four came after a deflection off English cricketer Ben Stokes‘ bat when he was attempting to reach the crease to complete his second run. According to the Laws of Cricket, it should be 1+4 = 5 rather than 2+4 = 6 as the batsmen had not crossed when the throw was released by New Zealand cricketer Martin Guptill.
While the match entered the Super Over, England scored 15/0 and New Zealand also scored 15/1. Despite that another tied result, England won that final on the boundary countback rule (26-17) and they secured their maiden Cricket World Cup trophy.
After that game, most people of the cricket world were heavily criticising that match-deciding rules after the Super Over tied matches. However, the New Zealand team didn’t react on that decision, rather than, they maintained the spirit of the game and stayed humble till the end.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was heavily praised after that game as he didn’t complain about any decision. After the post-match press conference, Williamson got a standing ovation. His entire team also followed the same path.
There was no animosity between both England and New Zealand: Nasser Hussain
On the one-year anniversary of England’s maiden Cricket World Cup trophy victory, Nasser Hussain praised the Kiwi captain.
In an ICC podcast titled ‘CWC Rewind’, Nasser Hussain said, “To be fair, there was no animosity between both England and New Zealand. We know Kane Williamson and his team were brilliant in their reaction after the 2019 World Cup final ended.
“He (Williamson) did the press that evening and he was so humble in defeat, all the press gave him a standing ovation, Williamson could have complained about so many things, I have not seen anyone complain about that decision. A team ends up as a mirror image of their captain, New Zealand is a mirror image of their skipper Williamson.”
Kane Williamson won the Player of the Tournament award at the end of that tournament for finishing as the fourth most run-scorer in that tournament (578 runs).