Kane Williamson proud of New Zealand despite another final defeat

Loss to Australia in T20 World Cup in Dubai is Black Caps' third in limited-overs finales in six years

Australia celebrate winning the T20 World Cup final while New Zealand captain Kane Williamson walks by. Australia won the match at Dubai International Stadium on November 14, 2021 by 8 wickets. Chris Whiteoak / The National

New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson. Chris Whiteoak/ The National

Kane Williamson of New Zealand interacts with Aaron Finch of Australia. Getty Images

Kane Williamson of New Zealand. Getty Images

Kane Williamson of New Zealand plays a shot. Getty Images

Kane Williamson of New Zealand drives the ball. Getty Images

Kane Williamson of New Zealand plays a shot. Getty Images

New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson walks past Australian cricketers celebrating. AP Photo

Even Kane Williamson’s famous gift for equanimity must have been tested by this one.

A third successive defeat in a major final in white-ball cricket in the space of six years. The sound of the Australian players’ wild celebrations echoing in from the room next door, as he was mandated to pick apart what had gone wrong.

Surely his spirit, at some point, must be crushed by all this?

Still he remained heroically stoic and cheery. The only moment he betrayed even a hint of defensiveness was when those finals were listed.

He interjected to point out his New Zealand side had also played in – and won – the first World Test Championship final earlier this year.

And even that was delivered with a smile.

“You sign up to play the game,” New Zealand’s captain said in the aftermath of Sunday night’s eight-wicket loss to Australia in the T20 World Cup final in Dubai.

“You win and you lose. These are things that can happen on any day.

"If you look at the campaign as a whole, which we do, and the type of cricket you have been able to play, I can say we are very proud of our efforts throughout this period of time.

“You get to a final and anything can happen. In 2019, that might be a longer discussion if you have some time.

“All these different fine lines and results, they happen.

“We turned up and played some really good cricket, and it wasn’t quite good enough. That is sort of just the way it goes.

“For us, we are still putting our energies into the right areas. There are a lot of positives. For us it is about trying to build on that, grow as a team.

“You want to win these comps. You want the fruits. But so do a lot of other teams.”

Williamson did not veer away from praising Australia for their excellence, although he did accept losing the toss did play a part in the outcome.

Of all the matches played in Dubai during the World Cup, just one was won by the side batting first.

“It did have an effect,” said Williamson, whose side did make 172 for four from their 20 overs.

“Some dew did come in, but take nothing away from the quality of Australia in the final.

“They played superbly well. Credit goes to them and the way they played their cricket for the past three weeks.

“The conditions throughout have been fairly consistent. The ball did skid on a little bit, but the Aussies were outstanding in their chase and very, very clinical.

“They have had a fantastic campaign, they are a brilliant side and they thoroughly deserved their win.”