Williamson rues missed chances
New Delhi: April 1, 2016, DHNS
Ahead of the knockout phase, New Zealand were tipped to be strong favourites for the World Twenty20 crown. They were the underdogs who had yet again reached the semifinals of an ICC event. On Wednesday, they yet again faltered, a total of nine times at the last four stage.
“It’ such a fickle format,” captain Kane Williamson shrugged before adding they just didn’t get the things right.
The Black Caps, who had raised excitement with their tactical brilliance and undefeated run, couldn’t reproduce their magic against England. Their defeat rekindled memories of their meltdown against Australia in the 2015 World Cup final.
Willamson acknowledged the superb death bowling by England bowlers Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan, resulting in the Black Caps scoring just 64 runs in their last 10 overs, before Jason Roy’s blitzkrieg took the game away from them. The young captain believed his side would only get better from here.
"We were 20-25 runs short. England bowled really well in that sort of death period which made life difficult. Unfortunately, we weren't able to connect as well as we would have liked. It certainly wasn't due to lack of trying. It's just the game we are playing. It's such a fine line," Williamson said.
"Their death bowling was very good. In between they hit the yorkers really well. By taking those wickets off certain deliveries, that puts you under pressure. As a new batter coming to the crease and trying to hit from ball one that is never easy. They were able to take wickets consistently through that middle to backend period, which meant that it stemmed the flow of runs in that death stage. You can look at it in a number of areas, but at the end of the day, we just didn't get things right.
“England were very very good. We played a semifinal not a long time ago. We came first in that one. We move on and we look to get better as a team."
The 25-year-old was also full of praise for their young spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner who ended among the highest wicket-takers in the tournament. Williamson overall didn’t nurse regrets.
"He's (Ish Sodhi) had a fantastic T20 tournament along with Mitch Santner. We've played on so many different wickets and the guys have adapted well, grown so much as a bowling unit. I suppose they have matured as well in this part of the world, which is extremely important for themselves and the team moving forward,” he said.
“There have been a number of guys who have had a very good tournament. I think it is very important to be process-driven in this format and play fearlessly. There is no room for conservative cricket. Let things unfold to a certain extent. Sometimes in this format the harder you try the worse it can get.”
“It’ such a fickle format,” captain Kane Williamson shrugged before adding they just didn’t get the things right.
The Black Caps, who had raised excitement with their tactical brilliance and undefeated run, couldn’t reproduce their magic against England. Their defeat rekindled memories of their meltdown against Australia in the 2015 World Cup final.
Willamson acknowledged the superb death bowling by England bowlers Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan, resulting in the Black Caps scoring just 64 runs in their last 10 overs, before Jason Roy’s blitzkrieg took the game away from them. The young captain believed his side would only get better from here.
"We were 20-25 runs short. England bowled really well in that sort of death period which made life difficult. Unfortunately, we weren't able to connect as well as we would have liked. It certainly wasn't due to lack of trying. It's just the game we are playing. It's such a fine line," Williamson said.
"Their death bowling was very good. In between they hit the yorkers really well. By taking those wickets off certain deliveries, that puts you under pressure. As a new batter coming to the crease and trying to hit from ball one that is never easy. They were able to take wickets consistently through that middle to backend period, which meant that it stemmed the flow of runs in that death stage. You can look at it in a number of areas, but at the end of the day, we just didn't get things right.
“England were very very good. We played a semifinal not a long time ago. We came first in that one. We move on and we look to get better as a team."
The 25-year-old was also full of praise for their young spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner who ended among the highest wicket-takers in the tournament. Williamson overall didn’t nurse regrets.
"He's (Ish Sodhi) had a fantastic T20 tournament along with Mitch Santner. We've played on so many different wickets and the guys have adapted well, grown so much as a bowling unit. I suppose they have matured as well in this part of the world, which is extremely important for themselves and the team moving forward,” he said.
“There have been a number of guys who have had a very good tournament. I think it is very important to be process-driven in this format and play fearlessly. There is no room for conservative cricket. Let things unfold to a certain extent. Sometimes in this format the harder you try the worse it can get.”
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