Coach Hesson laments NZ’s failure to grab chances

AFP/Cardiff

The Kiwis were already on the brink of bowing out after a 10-run defeat by England in a rain-reduced 24 overs per side clash in Cardiff on Sunday.

And their fate was sealed when Sri Lanka beat defending champions Australia by 20 runs in Monday’s final pool match at The Oval to join tournament hosts England as one of the two semi-finalists out of Group A.

Against England, New Zealand slumped to 61 for five chasing 170 for victory before a stand of 73 between Kane Williamson (67) and one-day international debutant Corey Anderson (30) got them back on course.

However, both batsmen fell in the closing stages, leaving what had looked like a gettable target just beyond New Zealand’s reach.

“I don’t know if it was lacking killer instinct,” Hesson told reporters in a telephone conference call in Cardiff on Monday. “In the chase we got ourselves a long way behind. We kept on losing wickets to the new ball, the ball seamed a little bit and we sort of struggled to cope. It wasn’t until Corey and Kane got together that we gave ourselves a chance.

“It’s a disappointing way to end. It was a big opportunity for us yesterday (Sunday) and we couldn’t quite grab it.”

Despite that defeat, New Zealand, who beat Sri Lanka by one wicket in a low scoring thriller in Cardiff and saw their match against Australia end in a no result washout, could still have reached the last four.

They needed defending champions Australia to beat Sri Lanka on Monday but by an insufficiently large margin to overtake New Zealand’s superior net run-rate.

“When Australia ended up bowling first, it was always going to be difficult because Australia chasing, obviously they were pretty committed to trying to chase it in 29 overs,” said Hesson.

“I guess you either get there or you blow up. Once they ended up batting second, it decreased our chances a lot.”

New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum walks back after being dismissed in the match against England in Cardiff on Sunday. (Reuters)