Published: Mar 22, 2015, 02:11 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 22, 2015, 02:11 PM (IST)
Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said that Martin Guptill’s record-breaking 237 not out against West Indies in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 quarter-final is the greatest limited-over innings by a New Zealand player that he’s even witnessed. Guptill’s innings consisted of 24 fours and 11 sixes, which helped New Zealand reach the semi-final of the mega event for the seventh time. READ: Mike Hesson: New Zealand vs South Africa, semi-final will be high-voltage clash
“It is easy to throw around superlatives to describe and categorise Martin Guptill’s monumental 237 not out against the West Indies in the ICC Cricket World Cup quarter-final in Wellington. But there is no question in my mind that it is the greatest limited-overs innings in history by a New Zealand player. Statistically, it is obviously the highest, with Guptill breaking his own record, the unbeaten 189 he made against England at Southampton two years ago, ” Fleming wrote in his column in icc-cricket.com. VIDEO: Martin Guptill smashes biggest six of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Fleming also compared this innings to Guptill’s 189 against Bangladesh at Southampton. He believes the circumstances of the matches were completely different. “When you add in the circumstances of this innings then this was many, many head and shoulders above anything any Black Caps batsman has ever produced. Those circumstances were simple: win and on you go; lose and out you go. That is pressure and you could magnify that pressure still further with the fact the team had built up a weight of expectation through its performances in the pool stage, ” said the former skipper. READ: New Zealand in ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final: A look back at previous six encounters
He went on to say that he expexted New Zealand to make it to the semi-final. “I think the squad will now be more excited than nervous ahead of the semi-final. They have achieved what I regarded at the start of the tournament as the minimum acceptable pass mark, that of qualifying for the semi-finals, and from now on I think it really will be a case of the shackles coming off”. READ: Martin Guptill emulates Craig McMillan during New Zealand-West Indies ICC
