Williamson explains thought-process behind sending Guptill, Neesham during super over in CWC'19 final
Jun 29, 2020
New Delhi [India], June 29 : New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson on Monday explained his thought-process behind sending in Martin Guptill and Jimmy Neesham during the super over which was played to decide the winner of 2019 Cricket World Cup.
The normal 50-over action between England and New Zealand ended in a tie and as a result, a super over was played to decide the winners of the World Cup.
In the super over, England had scored 15 runs, and New Zealand nominated Martin Guptill and Jimmy Neesham to go out to bat.
"I had a very brief discussion with the coach Gary Stead, I had a few guys in my mind who could go out to bat as we were going to bat second in the Super Over, the decision to send out batsmen was dependent on how much we were chasing and who the bowler is probably going to be," Williamson told Ravichandran Ashwin on the spinner's YouTube show titled 'DRS with Ash'.
"It was about giving yourself with the best possible opportunity, Neesham was hitting the ball very well throughout the World Cup and we all know how capable Guptill really is of hitting the ball out of the park, there was a short boundary on one side of the ground. They are both quick between the 22 yards so this helped too," he added.
Both Guptill and Neesham managed 15 runs in the super over, and on the final ball, Guptill was run-out to end the super over in a tie as well.
In the end, England was announced as the winners of the World Cup on the basis of the bounddary-countback rule.
"I was padded up to come in at three, it was a different experience to be a part of, both Neesham and Guptill did a good job, Jofra Archer is a remarkable bowler, emotions were so high after the final, it was a long tournament, when the time comes and it finishes, it's like of a draining feeling as all of it finishes. The guys were filled with emotion after what really transpired," Williamson said.
With this win, England won their first-ever 50-over World Cup title.
Kane Williamson was applauded from all corners as he held his composure after losing the finals by the slightest of margins. The Kiwi skipper was also awarded the 'Player of the Tournament'.
After the final, ICC came under a lot of scrutiny for deciding the result on the basis of the boundary-countback rule.
However, this rule was there before the tournament began, and apparently all teams had agreed to it.
