WTC final: New Zealand won’t be haunted by the 2019 World Cup final heartbreak, says Kane Williamson

The New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said that his team has moved on from their agonising loss to England in the 2019 World Cup final, and will not carry any scar in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) in Southampton, starting June 18.

Williamson is back in England chasing test cricket’s biggest honour and the 30-year-old said the heartbreak of two years ago did not haunt the New Zealand team.

“No, I do not think so, certainly not something that the guys have spoken about,” Williamson told the International Cricket Council (ICC), pointing out “a different side” would be playing a “different format” at the Rose Bowl.

“The focus is definitely on the transition from not playing much cricket or from where the guys who have played white-ball cricket to just change into that test format.”

“The match … was a very memorable one and obviously it had some controversy, and it had everything, and people loved watching it at the end of the day. That is why people got a lot out of it,” he said of the 2019 encounter.

England was crowned 50-overs world champions in 2019 via a controversial boundary-count rule, which has since been scrapped after the final ended in a tie even after a Super Over.

New Zealand won their home series against India last year, but Williamson would not underestimate an opponent who overcame several injuries to triumph in Australia this year.