Daniel Vettori
The BLACKCAPS captain talks after the third ODI against Australia.
On the top batting order…
“We put a bit too much pressure on ourselves with losing wickets and I suppose putting too much pressure on Styris and Hopkins to pick up the slack and then be aggressive near the end. It was just a total that was 40 or 50 too short and we couldn’t put any pressure on Australia because of it.”
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On how to make changes from here…
“It’s just taking ownership of your innings and realising that 20’s and 30’s and even 50’s and 60’s aren’t good enough against Australia, you need guys to kick on. You need those big partnerships and you can’t consistently lose wickets. You have to balance that up with the need to be aggressive, the need to put big totals on the board so its not an easy one to answer but I think the responsibility goes on the individual to make sure that they get the job done.’
On being one bowler short…
“It’s one bowler too few but you still need the guys to step up and bowl well so at times we did a really good job with the ball and at times we were poor. I was pleased with the way Michael Mason came back, it was a pretty tough start but he finished well. We need more from everyone in the group, not just batters, it’s the whole 11 that needs to lift the slack for the next game in Auckland.”
On the form of Gareth Hopkins…
“He continues to impress. We want him to make the most of the opportunities with the bat because that’s so important for the balance of the team, but if he can continue to keep like that then he is a really valuable asset to the team.”
On a missed opportunity…
“If Styris and Hopkins could have got through a couple more overs in that Powerplay I think we could have put that close to 300 runs score on and that would have really allowed us to put some pressure on Australia. The powerplay is a little bit of a poison chalice in terms of if you lose those wickets it can hurt you just as much as when you score those big runs.”
On the departure of Clarke form the Australian Team…
“I would hate to comment on something, I don’t know the reason he went home so whatever it is we wish him all the best.”
