Tim Southee and Brendon McCullum completely thrashed England to guide New Zealand to an eight-wicket victory in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. In doing so, they took all the accolades, but Shiamak Unwalla feels there were four other performances that went unnoticed.
1. Trent Boult (1 for 32 in 10 overs): Boult and Southee have formed a potent new-ball pair for New Zealand over the last few years. Right from their Under-19 days, the duo have been destined to hunt in a pack of two. Against England though, it was Southee all the way. That said, Boult did a commendable job to keep the pressure on the batsmen at the other end. Boult gave nothing away in his 10-over spell, and accounted for Gary Ballance in the process. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE
2. Daniel Vettori (1 for 19 in seven overs): New Zealand’s senior-most player kept the screws tightly on England. He went for a miserly 2.71 runs in his seven overs, and ensured England got no boundaries off his bowling. His sustained pressure meant that the bowlers at the other end kept striking. His spell bodes very well for New Zealand indeed; having their most experienced spinner in top form will only help them in their charge for World Cup supremacy. Oh, and did I mention he took two catches? ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS
3. Joe Root (46 off 70 balls): Root was the lone English batsman to show any spine whatsoever. He was on 31 when the procession of wickets began, and was the last man out for 46. That his innings was fruitless is no fault of his. While he was on strike, the pitch looked like a good one for bowling, but far from treacherous. It was only at the other end that the bowlers managed to make batsmen jump.
4. Chris Woakes (two for eight in three overs): When your team is bowled out for 123, it takes a special effort to lift yourself up. When the other team has amassed 105 in seven overs, it takes an absolutely stellar mind-set to even send the ball down straight. But Woakes found it in himself to not only bowl straight, but get rid of a rampaging Brendon McCullum with the first ball he bowled. He then came back and delayed New Zealand’s celebrations some more by cleaning up Martin Guptill. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and Cricket fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter @ShiamakUnwalla)
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