‘I forgot the most basic aspect of cricket’ - Brendon McCullum on the agony of the 2015 World Cup final defeat

Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand skipper, doesn’t have regrets over his team’s defeat in the final of the 2015 World Cup against Australia. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Baz became the first Black Caps’ skipper to lead his team to a World Cup final, but it ended in a disappointment as his team lost by seven wickets at the iconic venue.

Going down the memory lane, McCullum said that it was one of his dreams to feature in the final and he wasn’t nervous by any stretch of the imagination. He was one of the Kiwis’ gun batsmen in the mega event, but he couldn’t replicate the same in the game.

You can’t have regrets, says Brendon McCullum

In the very first over of the game, Mitchell Starc got rid of him for a three-ball duck. It turned out to be a body blow for New Zealand who were shot out for a paltry 183 in 45 overs. Remembering the game, McCullum admitted that he didn’t have the basics of cricket in mind.

“You can’t have regrets. It is what it is. I had dreamed that dream so many times; I was super excited, not nervous at all. The thing I forgot is, I forgot to watch the ball! I’d done everything else to be able to live that dream but then in that moment I just forgot the most basic aspect of cricket,” McCullum was quoted as saying in the latest episode of Captain’s log podcast series.

It was Grant Elliot’s 82-ball 83 that took the Black Caps to a respectable score. He got decent support from Ross Taylor, who scored 40 off 72 in a 111-run stand with Elliot. For the Aussies, Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner were the most successful with three wickets each.

In the run-chase, Trent Boult got rid of opener Aaron Finch early. However, David Warner and Steve Smith’s 61-run partnership fizzled the spirit out of the Kiwis. Michael Clarke, the then Australian skipper, scored 74 runs to guide Australia to victory. Matt Henry got a couple of late wickets, but by then the writing was already on the walls for the Black Caps.