Winning the World Cup was the most unbelievable day of my career - it still hasn't sunk in - 5 minutes read


Winning the World Cup was the most unbelievable day of my career

So this is how it feels to be on top of the world.

Let me tell you it is just an incredible, amazing feeling and I don't even think it has truly sunk in what we have managed to achieve.

It was the most unbelievable day of my cricket career so far and one that I will never forget, even if the memory of the celebrations are already a little hazy.

We generally try not to get too high or too low as a group, but last night that went out the window as we celebrated long and hard with each other and our friends and families.

The time in the dressing room was so special as we sang songs, laughed and joked and hugged each other more than we ever have before. This is what it was all about as we achieved the thing we set out to do four years ago.

All 15 members of the squad got to enjoy plenty of time with the trophy before we carried on the party back at our team hotel. It is the latest night I've had for a very, very long time.

We didn't have any idea that it would take the craziest game for us to get there and I still can't believe we tied not once but twice with the New Zealanders before we won on a boundary count back.

I don't think any team has ever won a World Cup by tying the final twice, and emotionally I wouldn't recommend it, but I was just so pleased that we managed to get over the line.

If I'm honest, during the game it was more of a feeling of 'what is it going to feel like if we don't win.' Thankfully I don't have to think about that now.

Redemption is a word that people in the media have been using, but that is not something that I'm thinking about. I certainly wasn't thinking about it while I was trying to win the game.

What happened in the past is in the past and it is a part of who I am, but I look forward not back and try to make the most of the journey.

Life can throw you off course at times, but it can also make you feel like a superstar and that is what we all feel like right now. It is just awesome.

After what I've been through it does make these moments feel all the sweeter because you are going to have ups and downs, but it is how you cope with it that matters.

It was great to eventually get hold of mum and dad back in New Zealand as well, they were over the moon.

I must admit I was absolutely goosed at the end of the game and before the Super Over began.

I had given my bat a bit of a clout with my left foot when we didn't quite manage to get those two runs from the last ball of the game.

It was just so emotional and there was so much going through my head about what to do from that last ball.

All I could think about was Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup when they were in a similar position and they hit the ball in the air and got caught.

I was thinking 'don't get out, just hit the ball hard and don't get caught, don't go for glory, don't try and be a hero,' because if it doesn't come off there is no coming back.

I went up the stairs to the dressing room and I could barely make it up there.

Morgs said right 'we need a left and right hand combination' and I said 'I reckon we should send out J-Roy and Jos!'

But then I understood I had to get back out there, but I needed to give myself five minutes on my own to collect my thoughts and reset.

I was so annoyed with not getting us there in the actual game that I needed to take a moment to dust myself down and get my head back in the game and go again.

The same goes for Jos and Jofra who both stepped up again in the Super Over as well as J-Roy who got the fielding spot on at the end.

This was a win for all of us in the team, in the squad and all those who have been a part of this project for the last four years. It runs so much deeper than just the 11 men in the team in the final.

Seeing all the videos online of people celebrating, all the people in Trafalgar Square, people at cricket clubs, in pubs and at home watching, that is what tells us about what we have achieved and what it means to the nation.

I think it is fair to say we gave Wimbledon a nudge into second place.

Source: Mirror

Powered by NewsAPI.org

Keywords:

This Is How It FeelsCricketIf I'm HonestNew ZealandSuper OverCricket batMy Left FootCricket ballSo EmotionalBangladesh national cricket teamSuper OverTrafalgar SquareCricketWimbledon, London