Brendon McCullum pleased with young T20 side ? Cricket News ...

Brendon McCullum pleased with young T20 side ? Cricket News Update

Despite losing the three-match T20 series against South Africa 1-2, the New Zealand Captain, Brendon McCullum, was pleased with the progression of the young side in his first assignment since taking over the reins from former skipper Ross Taylor.

Losing the first game at Durban by 8 wickets, the Black Caps bounced back in the second fixture to keep the tournament in check. Winning at East London courtesy Martin Guptill (who completed his century on the final ball of the innings), lifted the spirits of the young Kiwi side which entered Port Elizabeth eyeing a series win.

However, losing the final game at St George's Park by 33-runs following the absence of their prime-bowler, Tim Southee, and veteran all-rounder, Daniel Vettori, McCullum was still happy with the way the young side responded.

?The introduction of the new guys, playing in front of big crowds, is a positive. We have seen some good performances from the new guys, especially Mitchell McClenaghan, and it is encouraging. Although, we didn't get the results, we took significant strides in the series. The key thing is to continue to build the team inside out. We saw some guys step up, and they would now know what's required in international cricket. Progression of where we were a couple of weeks ago and where we are now, it's good,? shared the skipper.

Coming into the final game, the Black Caps were confident of their batting, having Guptill back in the side and in good form (in the second game after recovering from illness and missing the first clash). Nonetheless, losing Rob Nicol, Martin Guptill and skipper Brendon McCullum early, chasing South Africa?s 179, was too big a blow for the Kiwis to recover from.

Following the captaincy controversy and losing Ross Taylor (who withdrew himself from the entire South Africa tour after having a dispute with Coach Mike Hesson over the transfer of Captaincy to McCullum) right before the start of the tour, the Kiwis were still able to provide their fans an impressive show throughout the tournament.

New Zealand is now scheduled to play 2 Tests against the top ranked side, starting January 2 in Cape Town. Winning the second Test against Sri Lanka in their previous outing, the Kiwis will be hopeful of giving the Proteas a tough time.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Brendon-McCullum-pleased-with-young-T20-side-Cricket-News-Update-a211325

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