Kiwis emerge from 'tough times'

Brendon McCullum, guilty of a drop to reprieve Cameron White on 15, praised New Zealand for coming through "tough times"

Buy this photo

Stand-in captain Brendon McCullum praised the spirit in the New Zealand camp after they suffered Champions Trophy agony at the hands of Australia.

The Black Caps were soundly beaten by six wickets in the final at Centurion as their old rivals swept to a fourth triumph in the last five 50-over tournaments.

McCullum took the reins after skipper and frontline spinner Daniel Vettori sustained a hamstring problem during the warm-up, the fourth New Zealand player - after Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder and Daryl Tuffey - to be sidelined by injury during this competition.

That they reached the final represented a significant achievement, and McCullum did not let the disappointment at falling at the final hurdle prevent him from saluting the players’ efforts over the last two weeks.

“We have certainly come together as a group over the last couple of weeks; we have gone through some tough times,” he said.

“It was obviously a blow losing Daniel Vettori before the toss but I still thought we had the calibre of player to put Australia under pressure, and we would get a result. We had huge expectations when we went out there today. But it wasn’t to be.”

Shane Watson anchored the New Zealand reply with a superbly paced unbeaten 105, just three days after he hit 136 not out to sink England in the semi-final.

He shared a match-winning stand of 128 for the third wicket with Cameron White, who made 62, as Australia overhauled New Zealand’s 200 for nine with 4.4 overs to spare.

McCullum watches Shane Watson compile a match-winning unbeaten hundred at Centurion. "He's done brilliantly," he said

Buy this photo

Watson’s contribution secured him a second successive match award, and ensured ducks in his first two innings in the competition - against West Indies and India - were a distant memory.

“He’s done brilliantly,” McCullum said. “I think particularly the way he’s come back from two noughts in his first two innings in this tournament.

“To come back and score back-to-back hundreds in the semi-final and final is a brilliant effort. It’s obviously hard for him as well that he is most of the time bowling 10 overs, then walks out there and opens the batting.

“But he seems to have a pretty good grasp of it at the moment and I’m sure he’ll continue to score runs and win games for Australia.”

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan also tipped his hat to Australia, who became the first team to lift the Champions Trophy twice, while praising his own side’s fighting spirit.

“Of course the team is disappointed to have lost the final, but the Australian side has set the benchmark and played exceptionally well throughout the tournament,” he said.

“The Black Caps showed a lot of grit and fought hard. New Zealanders can be proud that their side has performed well during this competition, beating three top-ranked sides in must-win matches and making it to the final.

“Having been hit so hard by injuries during the tournament, the team has battled against the odds and shown great character.”