New Zealand blew it in the T20 decider against South Africa and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory has made their 50-over assignment a lot harder.
I still can't believe we lost that game at Eden Park. Staggering. There was, quite seriously, no way of losing it when New
Zealand had four overs to get 17 runs, with six wickets remaining. No way.
Although blaming individuals in a team sport can be a dicey proposition, the finger has to be pointed towards Jesse Ryder, who has copped it from the public. As a classy international batsman, Ryder will be pointing the finger at himself anyway. When you play at these sorts of levels, you know the score. I can remember blowing it for New Zealand on a number of occasions and it hurts at the time but you have to stand up and take responsibility.
I don't believe the impending milestone of 50 caused Ryder to lose momentum. T20 50s are just not that important - he lost his way for some reason, but surely not for that one. It would be interesting to hear Ryder's take on what happened but his lips have been sealed, leaving Brendon McCullum and James Franklin to do their best to offer some support.
But when the chance comes to win a game for your side, when you are in the position to do the business, it is important to close the deal. That's how it works. And this wasn't even one of those marginal situations where you accept that - while you want to finish on the right side of the ledger most of the time - you can't win them all. In this particular case, you do want to win them all.
