Cricket was the time of my life, reminisces Grant Elliot
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Grant Elliot, in an exclusive interview, has recalled the experience from four years ago when he led his nation into their first ever ICC World Cup final. He talked about what was going on in his mind before the historic moment and what it meant for him to have played that heroic innings.
In a moment that has been since talked about every time the Black Caps and the World Cup is mentioned in the same sentence, Grant Elliot’s effort against South Africa in the 2015 World Cup semifinal comes about. In the long, fairly underachieving history of the Kiwis, that six off the second last ball by Elliot is perhaps the nation’s most iconic cricketing story of all time, and deservedly so.Â
“The enjoyment and the ability to be calm under pressure was something I really wanted to pride myself in towards the latter part of my career. I think when I started my career, anxiety, expectation and fear of failure probably overwhelmed me a bit. But towards the back end, I really got to express myself because I wasn't worried about what people thought and the outcome,” Elliot said in an interview with ESPNCricinfo on being asked about what was going through his head when he went out to the crease.Â
His 84 off 73 balls came at a time when his country was in dire straits and was staring another disappointing World Cup campaign in the eyes, considering it looked like they were going to fail to seize the moment yet again. However, Elliot had different plans.
“I was probably nearing the end of my career and to be able to play in a World Cup semi-final - that's the pinnacle of your career, and to make a difference in those games. I always thought big players step up in big games and I wanted to be one of those guys that stepped up for the team,” Elliot recounted.
Over the past few years, there has been increased talk of the unrealistic pressure on cricketers and the psychological issues that it causes for them. Incidentally, Jimmy Neesham, the one Elliot had replaced in the World Cup squad, only a few days ago shared how the fear of failure had bogged him down all his life but he had finally made his peace with the game. Elliot admitted that his career had followed a similar trajectory.Â
“Cricket is a game of failure. You look at batsmen - they are going to fail 66% of the time even if they're one of the best in the world. If you fail that many times, you learn to be a resilient person. There's nothing quite like failing on a world stage with high-definition cameras in your face. You have to be quite resilient and put things in perspective. Without perspective, resilience and a consistent mindset, it makes it a very difficult game,” Elliot said discussing the grave issue.
However, Elliot was all praise for captain Brendon McCullum and how his efforts and acute leadership had all culminated into that moment. Initially expected to be a fringe player and brought in at the last moment, Elliot said time and again he was only there to enjoy himself and make his team proud of him.Â
“Brendon just kept telling us, "You have to play the game, find out the reasons why you first started. This is the best time of your life and you should enjoy it. You should enjoy playing the game." I guess we had that conversation a lot as a team,” recalls Elliot.
Though the final may have ended in a bitter loss, it was still the best ever campaign for the small island nation and until the achievement is bettered or maybe even beyond that, Elliot’s name will be likened to a hero. He called quits to his international career in 2017, before retiring from all forms of cricket the next year.
“Cricket was the time of my life. I wanted to succeed and I'm lucky that I finished it on a high. Not everyone gets to, and I feel like I got out on my own terms in a way,” Elliot stated.
