Controversy aside, England’s win over New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup final will go down as one of the greatest matches in recent memory. England were able to hold on for the victory – the country’s first-ever World Cup triumph – but New Zealand’s players are aware that they played a role in what should be a match cricket fans remember for decades to come.
New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill, who played a crucial role in the match’s outcome, said that he’s pleased with the way he and his team played, even if the result did not go in their favor. After hauling in Ben Stokes’ clip to midwicket, Guptill’s throw to the keeper connected with Stokes’ bat and all the way to the third man boundary for four overthrows, which gave England six runs. Stokes had already picked up another six runs after smashing the third ball of the over, and another two singles from the final two balls wound up tying the score.
Just about all of the top cricket betting sites on the web had England favored to win the final as the host nation, but the Kiwis should be proud of the effort they put forth. Ahead of the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India, New Zealand are listed as third-favorites behind the hosts and the reigning champions.
Guptill’s errant throw wound up being the story, and the source of controversy. Many believe the match’s umpires errantly awarded England six runs when it should have been five. Regardless, Guptill isn’t sweating the fact that his side ultimately came up short in their quest for World Cup glory. Guptill said, “Up until the third ball we were right in the box seat. And then it wasn’t to be, but that’s just the way cricket goes, as players. It was one hell of a final.”
While some Kiwis may feel as though they were cheated out of a positive result, Guptill remained resolute. He told Sky Sports, “I guess it was the throw that I threw in from the boundary and hit the back of Stokes’ bat and trickled off for four. You know when that sort of thing happens, from a throw from the boundary, it tends to not go your way.”
New Zealand needed 16 runs to win the Super Over, with Guptill needing two from the last ball of the match. However, Jason Roy’s shy from midwicket was on target, which left New Zealand short. England’s Jos Buttler fielded the shy from midwicket to seal the match and the title for the host side.
Guptill added, “I didn’t really know where the ball was, I just put the head down and just started running. It was a good throw and I dived from about halfway, and just come up a little bit short.”
New Zealand’s players and staff were classy amid the disappointment of defeat, for which they have received plaudits after the match. Despite the fact that they scored the same number of runs as England across the entire match, Guptill said that his team are proud to have been a part of such a memorable match. When asked whether the team are pleased to have been involved, Guptill said, “Yeah, I think so. You know, the support that we had from back home and even around here, and what you see on social media, everyone just loved the game, whether they were cricket watchers or not. Everyone was all over the game and they loved it and it was just a shame for us about the result.”
Despite the loss, Guptill said that he and his teammates actually enjoyed a bit of a celebration once the World Cup was over. He explained, “We actually had quite a good party. I mean, obviously it was quite a somber mood for a while but then we realized we were part of one of the greatest games in cricket history, so we got over it fairly quickly. We had a good time together, because we’re not going to be together as a group like that for a while yet.”
Guptill suffered through quite a bit of poor individual luck over the course of the tournament. He made a half-century to help his team to a ten-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first match of the World Cup for New Zealand, but after that he didn’t surpass 35 in any of his final 10 innings.
With the defeat in the back of his mind, Guptill has since gone on to debut for Worcestershire Rapids in the Vitality Blast. He says he is pleased to be getting an opportunity with the reigning T20 champions. Guptill said, “You need a bit of luck in the game as a batsman sometimes. And T20 can be the place to find that luck. So who knows, hopefully tonight I can find a little bit and hopefully score a few runs. It’s a young team and I think there’s a lot of excitement around it.”
