The 2019 World Cup final between England and New Zealand will be talked about as long as the game is played. To many, it is the greatest game of cricket ever played. To many more, it was nothing short of daylight robbery. For New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, even after nearly a year, it is impossible to figure out it was a high or a low point of his career.
New Zealand lost out to England in the final as the match was tied, after 100 overs and the super over that followed. The hosts were awarded winners on the basis of the now scrapped boundary-count rule.
“To determine whether it was a high or a low takes a bit of time. And I’m still trying to work out what it was really,” Williamson told Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle on a video chat show titled Cricbuzz In Conversation.
“We didn’t get the fruits but upon reflection, it was a pretty spectacular game to be a part of but a really difficult game to understand and get around because you were a part of the game.”
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While the world was trying to come to terms with what they had witnessed at Lord’s, Williamson said it took longer for some of his teammates to deal with the extraordinary situation.
“It was interesting, straight after the game there was no immediate reflection because the emotion was quite raw. Even for the guys who were playing in the game, they were involved in what was the next task. Just then, when the game finishes and you reflect, it is quite difficult to do so.
“You kind of allow the guys to let go and just experience it the way they wanted to, what was natural to them. And then the coming days or weeks, whenever we would meet, we would discuss when the emotions were a little less high. One or two guys got away for a bit to decompress. You don’t just think about one or two moments, but you do reflect on the whole journey you were a part of,” he added.
Speaking about the semi-final win against India, Williamson said that winning the toss was a massive factor on that Old Trafford pitch in Manchester and his side knew that with a score in the range of 230-240, they were in with a chance to win because of the nature of the surface.
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