New Zealand showed nerves towards the end: McCullum

Dunedin, Feb 17: New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum Tuesday said his team were nervous during their rrow three-wicket win against Scotland in a Pool A cricket World Cup match. The tourment co-hosts, among the top contenders to win the Cup, were cruising at 106 for three in the 18th over before suffering a shocking batting collapse to get reduced to 137 for seven in the 24th over. But they ultimately maged to get over the finish line which brought a huge sigh of relief to the New Zealand camp. “Pleased with the result, but we definitely showed nerves towards the end,” said McCullum at the post match presentation ceremony. New Zealand batsmen made quick starts but all were guilty of being over aggressive and threw their wickets away, a fact highlighted by McCullum’s knock of 15 runs in the game.

“Credit to them for posting a good total that was tricky on this kind of surface, he said.

The 33-year-old praised his fast bowlers for dismissing Scotland cheaply but also said they needed to improve their batting. IANS