Black Caps put dramatic final defeat into perspective

• Lockie Ferguson admits narrow defeat to England is ‘tough to swallow’
• Wicket keeper Tom Latham claims there is pride in ‘great campaign’

It feels impossible but perhaps it should come as no surprise that a team captained by Kane Williamson was able to put into perspective the most heartbreaking of World Cup final losses.

New Zealand played their part and then some in a remarkable ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final, eventually losing on boundaries scored after a tie in both the match and the Super Over.

Tom Latham had fired 47 as New Zealand scored 241/8, then took three dismissals as England matched them.

And despite the obvious disappointment at missing out on a maiden world title, the wicket-keeper insisted there was still great pride in the Black Caps’ campaign.

He said: “I’m certainly proud of the whole group and the support staff and how we went about things. Unfortunately we didn’t quite get across the line but we can certainly hold our heads up. It’s been a great campaign but it was not meant to be.

“It was a tricky surface to get yourself in on. Most guys that came in soaked up a few dots. I think that was the beauty of putting a few runs on the board for us to try to create that scoreboard pressure.

“We managed to get that run-rate up and you always know that if you get a couple of wickets and a couple of new batsmen in, it rises even quicker. It was a tricky surface but we were reasonably happy with what we put on the board and it was so close.”

If Ben Stokes was England’s match-winner, Lockie Ferguson came so close to getting New Zealand over the line.

His stunning catch of Eoin Morgan will go down as one of the greatest ever in a final, and he also removed Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes on his way to figures of 3/50.

But fast bowler cut a despondent figure during the post-match presentation but was magnanimous in his praise of champions England.

He added: “Any team who loses a World Cup final is going to be gutted. It’s tough to lose it when it goes to a draw and then in a Super Over.

“So it’s tough to swallow but England played a great competition, they played some great cricket and they got over the line under pressure in front of a home crowd so you have to commend them on a great performance.”