Brendon McCullum is bowled by Mitchell Starc in the World Cup final.
© AFP
Bold captaincy, aggressive field-placements, attacking batsmen and intimidating bowlers. All that formed key components of New Zealand's path to the final of the World Cup 2015, prompting skipper Brendon McCullum to call it "one hell of a ride."(Australia Win World Cup)
The Black Caps were unbeaten in eight matches before running in to Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the final on Sunday. Riding a wave of home support, Michael Clarke's men decimated their trans-Tasman rivals by seven wickets to lift the trophy for the fifth time. But the defeat in itself was a failure of everything the Kiwis had done well right through the tournament.(Clarke, Smith Leave Their Mark)
McCullum himself fell for a duck, becoming the first captain who could not manage to get off the mark in a World Cup final. His aggressive captaincy that had won praise from several quarters, was tested on Sunday by a low score and a rampaging David Warner and then a calculated Michael Clarke.(Clarke Dedicates Win to Hughes)
But McCullum said he had no regrets and was pleased with what his team has done. New Zealand had never before reached a World Cup final, and that was good enough for the current lot.
"It's been one hell of a ride for us, all the way through; we played some outstanding cricket. We ran into an outstanding team in Australia, they continue to set the standard," McCullum said after the match.
New Zealand's top order was tested for the first time this World Cup but they recovered well, thanks to a century-stand between Ross Taylor and Grant Elliott for the fourth wicket. But they caved in again, crashing to 183 all out in 45 overs from 150/3 in 35.
"It probably unfolded not as planned, but we got ourselves back in the game at 3 for 150. With 180, you still dare to dream. It could have ended up differently with a couple of things going our way. This is what you ask for as a cricketer, we've had the opportunity. We've forged memories and friendships that will last forever," McCullum said.
The Kiwi captain, who had talked of playing an aggressive brand of cricket with humility, said his players would walk away with their heads held high. "It's the greatest time of our lives and that's how we tried to play the game, with a free spirit and heart. I still think we can be very proud of our achievements in this tournament."
Before 2015, New Zealand had reached the semifinal six times out of 10 World Cups. But thanks to Martin Guptill's 547 runs (highest scorer in the tournament), Trent Boult's 22 wickets (joint-highest with Mithcell Starc in the tournament) and McCullum's explosive starts (328 runs from nine matches at a strike rate of 188.5), the smaller of the two Tasman nations have written history.
But McCullum's zero probably set up a day that did not belong to the high-flying Kiwis.
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