Well, it was last night on Wednesday (Same day that I got both new pairs of glasses where Pops took me to Specsavers & Carole getting her Sky decoder installed at her place as well as there had been a confirmed case of the corona virus in Wellington (Well, to start with, a passenger had skipped a pre-flight test had boarded a flight from Sydney to Wellington to see friends of someone but now he has to self quarantine as a result of picking up the disease) meaning that they have declared a shutdown officially in the Wellington area (But most people will be getting tested to see if they don't contract the virus) under COVID-19 (It has since been ongoing since it began in March last year with the global outbreak 4 months after the very 1st confirmed case of the corona virus happened in Wuhan in China but COVID-19 has always been our enemy so we are still uniting against the severe, contagious disease that they had worldwide) alert level 2 as well as the Kapiti Coast & Wairarapa areas where the restrictions came into effect (They had a netball match postponed but the rugby match had been given the go ahead with only 100 people are allowed in at Sky Stadium which will be held under the state of emergency protocol that they have declared in the greater Wellington area) that Pops took me & Carole to Upokongaro to have dinner at the riverside bar where I had the steak meal with vegetables, eggs & fries but there was really good news that on Thursday morning that the World Test Championship is now New Zealand's Cup! After the Black Caps (Led by inspirational skipper Kane Williamson (Who scored an unbeaten half century at 52 not out off 89 deliveries during the 2nd innings with Ross Taylor scoring the winning runs in BJ Watling's final ever test & there also has South African born player playing for New Zealand, Devon Conway (Who absolutely mowed England down when he scored a double century at Lord's against England (Featuring the likes of the bowling attack of James Anderson, Stuart Broad & Mark Wood & without its top stars of Jofra Archer & Ben Stokes) triumphed over India (Led by Virat Kohli (Who is coincidentally a team mate of Kyle Jamieson (Who was the top performer in the final after picking up a 5 wicket haul in the 1st innings at 5 wickets for 31 runs after 22 overs & he used to open the batting during his 1st XI schoolboy cricket days) at Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL) by 8 wickets at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton on the 6th & final day (There was a reserve day available on day 6 because the 5th day wasn't the final day of the World Test Championship final but the final of the ultimate test began on day 2 after day 1 was rained out due to inclement weather but only 4,000 people are allowed in at the ground due to COVID-19 restrictions that were in place) to win our 1st major ICC sanctioned tournament (It is even better than our success in the America's Cup this year with Emirates Team New Zealand during my phone conversation with Dad tonight) since 2000 when we won the Knockout Trophy in Nairobi, Kenya against the same opponent after coming so close of winning the 50 over Cricket World Cups in 2015 against co-hosts Australia & at the last one in 2019 against previous hosts England where I had a great day by watching the test cricket final after Pops told me the news that I heard this morning that the Black Caps (Dubbed as the Emirates Team New Zealand of test cricket) were the victors in the historic 1st ever World Test Championship (And what a nice way for New Zealand to end a World Test Championship like this, what a match for our viewers right around the world, & that surely is the stairway to test cricket heaven, what a day out at the Hampshire Bowl but I wonder the headlines would say: BLACK CAPS WIN WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP 2021 or more like: NEW ZEALAND TROUNCE INDIA TO WIN INAUGURAL WTC (And of course in the famous words of former New Zealand cricketer turned commentator Simon Doull in commentary: ''Whips that one away & how appropriate, that Ross Taylor & Kane Williamson are there, for this moment, for this team, its a story that's akin to David Vs Goliath, but Kane Williamson & his team are now, world test champions. And living proof, that sometimes, just sometimes, nice guys do finish first. Been 21 years of heartache, some bare margins for New Zealand, but their name will now be on an ICC trophy once again & it's a group of men, that emphasize team first, none more so than the likes of Kane Williamson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner & a man playing in his last test match for this Black Caps outfit, BJ Watling. Congratulations to New Zealand, & thanks to India for being such a big part of a great test'') & mowed the lawn which I haven't been doing since nearly 3 weeks ago while I was still watching the cricket by getting $70 for earning it by mowing both the main & the memorial garden area.
And what went right for the Black Caps to win an historic first ever World Test Championship final like this? Because they had some good, experienced players (Like Kane Williamson & Ross Taylor for example as well as Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner & the rising star of New Zealand cricket, Kyle Jamieson) but consistency was the key & it was a motivating factor of winning the final (And poor old India I think because they haven't got a right amount of selection (Mohammad Siraj should've been picked instead of Ravindra Jadeja because they would've made the difference that India (Who lost to Sri Lanka in the 2014 T20 World Cup tournament followed by the eventual champions Australia in the semifinal of the 2015 50 over Cricket World Cup a year before they lost to the eventual champions the West Indies in the semifinal of the last T20 World Cup in 2016 a year before losing to traditional rivals Pakistan in the final of the last ever Champions Trophy in 2017 2 years before losing to New Zealand in the infamous semifinal of the last Cricket World Cup in 2019) could've won the World Test Championship in which New Zealand were heavily favored to win after that selection blunder made by the Indians had gone wrong) unlike South Africa in the 1996 Cricket World Cup quarterfinal match against the West Indies that pace bowler Allan Donald should've have been picked because of the favorable pitch which suited for the fast bowlers & of course the selectors were in favor of spinner Paul Adams which caused South Africa to lose the quarterfinal after the West Indies had dominated the match (Including a century to West Indian batter Brian Lara but a selection blunder by South Africa cost them a chance to make the semi) to set up a semifinal showdown with Australia who beat New Zealand in the other quarterfinal after Mark Waugh (Who nearly got out after a New Zealand player tried to catch the ball but couldn't as it was put down instead) scored an unbeaten century (There was also a century to New Zealand's Chris Harris but it wasn't good enough to reach the semi) as well as Pakistan (Who were defending champions at the time) in the other quarterfinal match against traditional rivals India (Who have never lost to the Pakistanis at a Cricket World Cup before) that the Pakistani captain Wasim Akram had to pull out through a shoulder injury 15 minutes before the coin toss (The majority of the Pakistan fans were outraged when Wasim got injured & had to withdraw) allowing Aamer Sohail to take over the captaincy but in the end, it was the Indians who capitalized with an amazing victory over the Pakistanis to go through to the semifinals to set up a showdown with the eventual champions Sri Lanka who had just beaten England in the other quarterfinal match.
And here is the article about the Black Caps extraordinary victory according to today's Whanganui Chronicle newspaper:
Black Caps do the business
A punch of the gloves between Ross Taylor & Kane Williamson was a typically understated way to celebrate victory by this New Zealand team as they became winners of the inaugural World Test Championship final. Both carry the scars of defeat in two World Cup finals, so you can understand why they were a little unsure how to mark winning one at last after an intense, riveting final that went deep into the sixth day. Trent Boult said recently he would never get over losing the World Cup final in 2019, but New Zealand handled that excruciating defeat with a graciousness that made this moment of catharsis all the more poignant. Williamson was a helpless onlooker on the Lord's balcony as the super-over drama unfolded two years ago but this time he was in the thick of it, wearing blows to his body, overturning an lbw dismissal & surviving a dropped catch to make a gutsy 89-ball 52 to see his team home by eight wickets. He was partnered in a 96-run stand by Taylor, who may see hitting the winning runs as the perfect way to round off a long career. ''I'm sure a few Kiwis will be waking up very proud'' he said as the clock ticked towards 6am back home. The last six-day test in England was so long ago it featured centuries from Bob Woolmer & Ian Chappell, but the wait was worth it because, despite everything that has been thrown at it, this was a riveting game of high quality not seen in this country for a long time with two excellent teams giving everything. To those still doubting the concept of a World Test Championship final, the sight of Virat Kohli on the sixth day provided the perfect riposte. As India desperately hunted wickets, Kohli repeatedly gesticulated to the crowd, encouraging them to offer more vociferous support for India. A new star has been born in Kyle Jamieson, man of the match for his seven for 61 from 46 overs. Yesterday he bowled two heroic spells, starting with two for six in seven overs before lunch, landing the big wickets of Kohli & Cheteshwar Pujara. Even though he was wicketless in his seven overs after the interval, he conceded only nine runs, containing the threat of a counterattack by Rishabh Pant as India made just 170, setting a target of 139 in 53 overs. But this was not about one man. It was the concerted effort of cricket in New Zealand that overcame the disparity in income & population to produce a team built on the collective & beat India's superstars. Pant is world cricket's most exciting talent & when he was dropped on five by Tim Southee it felt as though New Zealand's final curse was happening again but Jamieson's persistence tempered his attack & he snapped when Boult came on, skewing a top edge, which was caught brilliantly by Henry Nicholls. India's last four wickets mustered 14 runs. It followed the 12 their last four added in the first innings, exposing an underbelly of a team vaunted for its batting. India's hubris also let them down. They named their team two days before the game & stuck with two spinners, despite the filthy forecast & conditions. It left three seamers to hold the attack together, and they tired when a final push was needed. India resumed on 64 for two &, with the sun out, batting promised to be easier than at any stage. But instead Jamieson earned edges from Kohli & Pujara. Suddenly it was clear there could be only one winner. India's fans banged cymbals & drums every time Pant or Ravindra Jadeja played a shot in anger but Neil Wagner has the tenacity of an All Black & ploughed a leg-side side theory that drew the mistake. As soon as he bowled wide of off stump Jadeja could not resist. New Zealand suffered scares. Devon Conway & Tom Latham fell to Ravichandran Ashwin & Williamson was given out leg before on one, but Hawkeye showed the ball missing leg stump. It was the pivotal moment. Runs were a grind & flowed only as the target neared. Jasprit Bumrah dropped a skier off Williamson when he was on 43 but it was all over by then anyway. Moments later Taylor flicked Mohammed Shami for the winning runs. England fans can stop feeling guilty about the last final now.
And finally my last thoughts before I wrap this blog up? Brilliant, absolutely brilliant by New Zealand to become champions of the world in test cricket like this. Great match. Beautifully played because that was our best chance of winning the World Test Championship.
So that is my 425th blog of the year 2021 (MMXXI) & my 45th of this year.
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