London: With tense finishes becoming the order of the day in the Champions Trophy, players and captains are finding out how well they handle the nerves.
When Pakistan beat West Indies by two wickets at the Oval last Friday, West Indies skipper Dwayne Bravo was seen chewing his nails. And when New Zealand pulled off a one-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Sunday, Brendon McCullum’s anxiety was also clearly visible.
So when McCullum was asked about his nervousness and the situation in the dressing room towards the closing stages of the match against Sri Lanka, he said: “I think once you get out, that’s when you start to get a little bit twitchy. I think while you’re out there you can actually help them in a situation when you know it’s not too bad. But you get back in the changing room and you’re sort of watching things unfold — then it is difficult.”
Talking about the tension after his brother Nathan, who top scored with a fighting 32, was dismissed, McCullum said: “I think once Nathan got out that was probably when things got a little bit nervy. But obviously once that run out [of Kyle Mills] happened as well, that was probably one of those nervous moments.
“Once we got down to the last few runs, it wasn’t too bad because I knew that Tim [Southee] had faced a lot of balls against Malinga and he was one of those guys that, once you face him for a period, it becomes a touch easier. So I think he got a little bit more composed towards the end.
“Nathan was obviously brilliant how he struck the ball as well as anyone else did on that surface, and obviously Tim as well for showing some nice composure towards the end.”
Though Australia are not playing well, McCullum is not going to take them easy in their match at Edgbaston on Wednesday. “We know that they are a very good team and, while they may not have been playing as well as they are capable of, we know they’re still a dangerous proposition,” he said.
“We’ve got to make sure we get a firm read on what the pitch is going to be like as well, and make sure we’re well planned and well prepared for that. Hopefully we can tidy up a couple of those loose shots that we showed with the bat and keep the outstanding bowling and fielding which we showed as well. If we can do that, we give ourselves a live chance against Australia.”
