Team party after heartbreak loss
Black Caps opening batsman Martin Guptill says he didn’t know where the ball was when he sprinted between the wickets before the fateful run out that saw England win the Cricket World Cup on Monday.
Guptill was in the thick of the drama as it was his throw during the last over of the match (before the Super Over was required) that was deflected by the bat of Ben Stokes to the boundary, turning a hit for two into six runs and a resulting controversy.
And then there was the run out. Guptill had hit the last ball of the Super Over firmly on the leg side, with the Black Caps needing two runs to win. Jason Roy threw the ball in from the deep and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler gathered it and ran out a sprawling Guptill.
‘‘I didn’t really know where the ball was, I just put the head down and just started running,’’ Guptill told in Britain. ‘‘It was a good throw and I dived from about halfway, and just come up a little bit short.
‘‘Up until the third ball we were right in the box seat,’’ Guptill said. ‘‘And then it wasn’t to be, but that’s just the way cricket goes, as players. It was one hell of a final.’’
He said ‘‘the thought crosses your mind’’ that New Zealand were fated to miss out, with the moment that changed the game being the deflection from Stokes’ bat.
‘‘I guess it was the throw that I threw in from the boundary and hit the back of Stokes’ bat, and trickled off for four. You know when that sort of thing happens, from a throw from the boundary, it tends not to go your way.’’
The big disappointment had been mitigated by the knowledge that New Zealand had played such a big part in one of cricket’s most riveting games.
‘‘You know, the support that we had from back home and even around here, and what you see on social media, everyone just loved the game, whether they were cricket watchers or not. Everyone was all over the game and they loved it and it was just a shame for us about the result.
‘‘We actually had quite a good party,’’ he told ‘‘I mean, obviously it was quite a sombre mood for a while but then we realised we were part of one of the greatest games in cricket history, so we got over it fairly quickly. We had a good time together, because we’re not going to be together as a group like that for a while yet.’’
Guptill had a miserable time with the bat at the World Cup, but starred in the field, with his throw to dismiss India’s MS Dhoni in the semifinal the vital wicket to get them into the final.
He is staying in England, playing for Worcestershire, the defending T20 Blast champions. In his debut for them yesterday, he scored 27 in their win over Nottingham.