New Delhi: They missed out on a fairy-tale ending in the previous edition but New Zealand will leave no stone unturned to lift their maiden World Cup trophy this time, according to swashbuckling opener Martin Guptill. “That’s (winning the Cup) an unfinished job,” Guptill said.
New Zealand started the warm-up games with a bang, beating tournament giants India by six wickets and 77 balls to spare Saturday.
“I wouldn’t say we are favourites to win the World Cup this time but we have named a strong squad. We know it’s going to be a tough tournament. We are going to try our best, do everything we can to go and win the trophy we missed out on the last time,” Guptill told this agency, Monday.
New Zealand have landed in the UK with an experienced and balanced side and the English pitches are likely to suit big hitters like Guptill, who will be crucial to the team’s success.
The 32-year-old was one of the key members of the team’s best-ever World Cup campaign when they reached their maiden final in 2015. He was the highest run-getter of the last edition with 547 runs at an average of 68.37. He also scored an unbeaten 237 in the quarterfinal clash against West Indies. Such performances in big tournaments are what keeps the right-hander pumped and raring to go.
“It was pretty cool to have the second highest score in the World Cup thus far. You always need that kind of confidence going to such a big tournament. I think if you are not confident maybe you probably shouldn’t be turning out. I hope I can continue the form I had last time,” Guptill asserted.
Guptill also has an impressive ODI record in England. He has scored 652 runs with a strike-rate of 97.31 which includes an unbeaten 189 from 155 balls.
New Zealand, considered perennial dark horses, know how to punch above their weight. “The tournament (2015 World Cup) was really good for us. We played some really good cricket but unfortunately for us, we played our worst game in the final,” Guptill lamented.
Many of the players who were part of the 2015 squad have been replaced by youngsters including former captain Brendon McCullum and spinner Daniel Vettori and Guptill feels the team need to gel well together to achieve results like last edition.
“To be honest, it’s a completely different team and it’s a different time, it’s four years later, so we need to come together and do what we do like last time. We have to make sure everybody is gelling well and are having some fun together because that was the biggest take away from last time,” said the opener.
Guptill is coming to World Cup on the back of two international centuries (117 not out, 118) against Bangladesh in February. Since then he has only featured in three matches for his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, in which he scored 81 runs with a strike rate of 152.83.
“I just tried to get as much batting practice as possible in the nets (in the SRH camp), to make sure I was in the rhythm heading to the World Cup,” Guptill signed off.
PTI