Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum is disappointed with the way his batsmen batted in their last league game of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 against England. He was quoted saying,” We failed to cease the moment and lost the occasion.” He stressed that the batsmen need to take the challenge with responsibility.
McCullum was quoted by Indian Express saying, "It was huge moment for us but we let the opportunity pass. Our batting needs work. There was pressure after we lost early wickets and the England pacers really bowled well.”
New Zealand is relying on the outcome of the match that is being played between Sri Lanka and Australia. If Sri Lanka wins this match, then New Zealand who is sitting at second position with three points will be out of the Champions Trophy 2013.
New Zealand lost half their batting side for 62 runs in the 24th over and managed to put up a fight only after Kane Williamson struck a 54-ball 67 and stitched 73 runs for the sixth wicket with debutant Corey Anderson. Williamson was unfortunate to be given out by third umpire when the Stuart Broad's foot was looking over the line but McCullum didn't took it much seriously.
He took the no-ball decision of the umpire in right spirit and was quoted by The Hindu saying, “It was a close call but I don’t really think we should make a fuss about it. We lost most of our wickets at crucial time which is of the biggest concern for me.”
Meanwhile the reports in Deccan Chronicle quoted Kane Williamson saying, “It was so close but yet so far for us against England. It's a shame that we lost our wickets at key times. We lost our momentum every time a wicket went down."
He added, "The challenge of the scoreboard was too much and there was no time to think of him. Really like Australia to play some excellent cricket against Lanka. But we can't expect Australia to do us a favour. We didn't take our opportunities at the end of the day."
