They did, despite losing several key players, including captain Daniel Vettori, Jesse Ryder, Jacob Oram and Daryl Tuffey. The squad, devoid of any major superstars, fought like true champions and though finished as runners-up, could take a lot of positives from the tournament.
“We’ve certainly come together as a group over this last couple of weeks, and we’ve gone through some pretty tough times in terms of losing some key players,” New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum, who led the team in Vettori’s absence, said.
He was hopeful to put up a challenge despite the loss of key players. “I still thought we had the calibre of players, and also a good self-belief in the unit that we’d be able to put Australia under pressure and hopefully come out with the result, but it wasn’t to be.”
“Losing Vettori before the toss today was a huge blow. He’s been instrumental in getting us into this final — his batting, his bowling and also his captaincy — has played a huge part.”
Nothing went right for the team in the final with Neil Broom getting run out at a crucial moment. “I thought when Broom was run out it was obviously quite an important point in the game. If we managed to continue, we may have been able to post around 230-240 runs.
McCullum also praised the efforts of Kyle Mills and Shane Bond with the new ball. “I thought they were brilliant to take out the first couple of wickets in the fashion they did — it was a fantastic effort. They kept coming in and trying to give it their all but unfortunately we didn’t provide them with enough runs.”
He also admitted the dropped chance of Cameron White was crucial in the outcome. “It was obviously crucial. Unfortunately one went down today and I was responsible for it. I only just got a finger on it, let alone hold it,” he said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said the Black Caps could be proud of their effort in making the final of Champions Trophy.
“New Zealanders can be proud that their side has performed well during this competition, beating three top-ranked sides in must-win matches and making it to the final,” Vaughan was quoted as saying by the New Zealand media.
“Having been hit so hard by injuries during the tournament, the team has battled against the odds and shown great character.”
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