Providence (Guyana), Jun 8 (PTI) New Zealand captain Kane Williamson on Saturday termed his side’s 84-run defeat against Afghanistan in the ongoing T20 World Cup as “incredibly frustrating” and urged his teammates to move on quickly from the reversal.
New Zealand struggled against Rashid Khan (4/17) and Fazalhaq Farooqi (4/17) while getting bowled out for 75 in 15.2 overs while chasing 160.
“Incredibly frustrating performance. We certainly did prepare to the best of our ability. So, no excuses. For us, it’s moving on quickly.
“We know we’ve got a match in a few days and it’s about putting out a better performance,” Williamson said in the post-match press conference.
In their second Group C match, New Zealand will face co-hosts West Indies at Trinidad on June 13.
Williamson said the Kiwis would hit the boardroom soon to find a way to dish out a better performance against the two-time champions.
“We’re going to have to sit down. We are going to have to have a chat and review a little bit and then move on quickly because the tournament is short from here on.
“I mean, it was mentioned we’ve been here for a long time (in the West Indies), but we knew that when the games started, they’d be coming thick and fast.
“So, it’s making some small adjustments, and we know we go to a different venue against a different opposition. So, it’s important we prepare for what’s in front of us again. We know how strong the West Indies side is,” elaborated Williamson.
However, the affable Kiwi did not take anything away from a brilliant Afghan side, which dished out a cohesive performance to outwit his unit.
“I mean certainly they’re not the standards that we expect of ourselves. But take nothing away from Afghanistan, they were superb.
“And they’ve been building as a group for some time now and we’re seeing performances like that from them quite regularly,” he added.
The on-going T20 World Cup has so far seen some really low-scoring games, but Williamson dubbed them as “exciting.” “We’ve seen it throughout; the conditions keep changing in this competition and we’ve seen so many tight matches and that’s the nature of it which is exciting in terms of a competition.
“But for us it’s changing our focus, looking at some of the areas we can definitely get better at and moving on,” he added.
Source: PTI News
