Over time New Zealand players will understand how magnificent that spectacle was, reckons Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum has stated that the losing team is too heartbroken at the moment to realize the incredible contribution they have made to cricketing folklore by being a part of the historic final. He further discussed some controversial aspects of the game and his own experience of losing a final.
New Zealand recently lost their second World Cup final in a row in heartbreaking fashion, having scored exactly the same amount of runs as England but were edged out by the hosts on boundary count. Almost a week later, the talk around the thrilling encounter has still not died out as the match is now being widely hailed as the greatest ODI in the history of the sport. Former skipper Brendon McCullum has admitted that losing on such fine margins will make the loss even harder to swallow but soon the Kiwi players would realize how significant and historic the clash was.
"That's the thing and it's going to be so difficult for those guys. I was lucky enough to have a beer with them in the changing room and they were pretty broken, that's for sure,” revealed Brendon McCullum to stuff.co.nz, reported ESPNCricinfo.
“They were also really proud of what they did and how well they played. Over the coming months and years, whilst it's still raw now, they'll understand just how magnificent that spectacle was. And for it to happen on the biggest of stages, to have played the hand that they played in that match is absolutely amazing.,” he added.
The retired wicket-keeper batsman himself made waves around the island nation four years ago when he led his team unexpectedly to the World Cup final, only to end up losing to Australia. Even then, they had gone into the tournament as underdogs not unlike the recently-concluded edition of the tournament.
"Yes, it would've been lovely to have been a World Cup champion, but I've always said the game doesn't define you but it's the person and character you are. I was so pleased with how our team handled that loss, also the success throughout that tournament," McCullum said.
In the last of the regulation overs, a freak incident had seen a throw deflect off Ben Stokes’ bat and raced towards the boundary. While six runs were awarded, most including former umpires were of the opinion only five runs should have been added to the scoreboard.
"I guess if you look at the rules, it may not have been the right call but it's just luck, that's how it works. There's nothing to say that if Ben Stokes was facing the last ball and he needed four off that rather than two, he wouldn't have struck that low full-toss out of the ground,” explained McCullum.
"I just don't think you can focus on those things. It's bitterly disappointing they didn't work out for us but we had our elements of luck throughout that World Cup too, which gave us a chance. Unfortunately on the day it didn't fall our way. I certainly don't blame anyone,” the 37-year-old concluded.
