That is how White Ferns stand-in captain Suzie Bates described her side’s 27-run loss to England in Dunedin yesterday.
Bates smacked 65 from 51 deliveries but the home side struggled to keep pace with the required run rate and drifted to a 27-run loss in the opening match of the five-game T20 series.
England posted 160 for four and the White Ferns were restricted to 133 for five.
"We struggled during that middle phase to take a wicket," Bates said.
"I think, looking back ... pace-off proved really effective. We had one spinner and our seamers probably did not go to pace-off and England showed us that was really successful.
"With the bat, in the middle overs, we just struggled to find the boundary and that was the difference in the game."
The White Ferns went five overs without scoring a boundary and the required run rate blew out.
Bates felt the batting unit could have played with more courage during that period.
"We talk about that as a group — taking the bowler on earlier. But I don’t think it was a case of not trying."
The White Ferns were four down and England’s spinners seized the momentum with some tight bowling, she added.
"But taking the game on and backing ourselves to hit it through or over the field [is something] we have been talking about as a group and taking that method from the nets to the middle."
Bates felt 160 was around par and certainly within reach on what was a good wicket.
"I thought there was a stage when we could have kept them to 140 had we taken a few wickets earlier, and there was a stage that I thought they could have got to 170-180."
Despite the loss, Bates enjoyed the occasion. The veteran top order batter has amassed more than 300 games across both formats for her country, but very few of them have been in her home city, Dunedin, and none as captain until yesterday.
The sun came out and a good crowd showed up. There were more than 1200 spectators and perhaps half of them were school children.
"We have not played that much in Dunedin and to get the opportunity to captain after I stepped away [in 2018] was pretty special.
"Standing out there looking up at the stand during the anthems and seeing really familiar faces in the crowd, and with all the children there today, it did feel a really proud moment that I’ll never take for granted."
