New Zealand head coach Gary Stead on Thursday (June 24) said his team's ICC World Test Championship (WTC) triumph against India makes up a bit for the heartbreaking 2019 World Cup final loss to England at Lord’s.
After four days of thrilling cricket amid rain and the unpredictable English weather conditions at The Ageas Bowl, Southampton, New Zealand thrashed India in the WTC 2021 Final by 8 wickets to win the ICC Test Championship Mace on Wednesday (June 23).
Following the thrilling WTC Final victory in Southampton, New Zealand players and support staff returned home with the ICC Test Championship Mace and $1.60 million prize money.
Stead told India Today: “We've had a few World Cup Finals in the last few years in which we have got to the end but not gotten over the line. So that's more pleasing for our players. This win does make up for the 2019 World Cup Final loss in a small way. But we harbor no grudges about what happened in that game at Lord's, you have to learn to get on with it.”
He continued, “And it's a slightly different group of players that we have here. I think it makes it easier to let that game go now, we hadn't won a World Cup or anything like it but now we have so it probably makes it a bit easier to let the game of 2019 go into the past and distance a little bit more.”
While saying the WTC 2021 Final victory is yet to sink in, the New Zealand coach has also spilled the beans on how they celebrated the Test Championship Mace triumph in the dressing room.
Stead further said, “Not sure if it has really sunk in yet, we had an enjoyable night last night just enjoying each other's company back at the team hotel. We are very happy and excited about what this win has done for cricket in New Zealand. We had a few beers and drinks within each other but it was only the team that was together.”
He signed off by saying, “We stayed in the dressing room for a couple of hours before heading back to our rooms here at the hotel. And today it all just changed so quickly, our bags are gone and we are ready to head off to the airport soon and get back to New Zealand.”
(With India Today Inputs)
