Australia captain Mitchell Marsh admitted that he carried thoughts of retiring himself out after failing to get the big guns locked and loaded in a nine-over shoot-out against New Zealand in a rain-affected second T20I at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Friday.
Despite firing the Aussies to a blistering 182-run chase with his supersonic 85 off only 53 balls in the previous match, Marsh failed to get the big hits from ball one after being sent into bat by the Kiwis in a truncated contest.
Marsh tottered to 1 off five deliveries when he admitted contemplating retiring out of the innings. His painstaking stay, however, would not last forever. Within the next three deliveries, Marsh would get his strike rates up past 100, with a six and a subsequent downpour would mean a washout, with Aussies maintaining a 1-0 lead ahead of the final T20I.
“Days like today are always difficult. We tried our best to get a game for the crowd. The weather won today. Hopefully, tomorrow is a good day. A trophy like the Chappell-Hadlee holds a lot of history for both teams. I was one of five in a nine-over game and never felt so much pressure in my whole career. It was nice to walk off, I was actually about to retire myself,” said Marsh in the post-match chat.
Having found themselves behind in the race, New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell said that his side was keen to back on level terms with their Trans-Tasmanian rivals.
“We wanted to play a game, but the weather didn’t play ball tonight. We spoke about nailing the plans. Pleasing to see the improvement from a couple of days ago. You want to start well in a 3-match series, but had a disappointing start with the loss. You feel for the guys that miss out, and you want to give guys opportunities to play,” remarked Bracewell.
“We thought this was the best chance for the conditions we will see what happens tomorrow. We made a few adjustments from the first to the second game. Every game is important for your country. We are very lucky to have such loyal fans. For people to brave the conditions here and come out to support us is great. Hopefully, we will have some nice weather tomorrow,” he added.
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