The White Ferns should have won the Twenty/20 World Cup final. That was White Ferns coach Gary Stead's blunt assessment shortly after his side's dramatic three-run loss to Australia in Barbados yesterday.
"This one was really hard to take because I think we'd put ourselves into a position that we could have and should have won that game," Stead told the Otago Daily Times from Barbados.
The White Ferns lost to England in the final of the twenty/20 and one-day world cups last year and were determined to learn from those disappointments.
They started well, restricting Australia to 106 for eight.
But the dream started to unravel when a calamitous batting collapse saw them slump to 36 for five.
Some powerful hitting from Sophie Devine revived New Zealand's chances but Australia held on through some desperate fielding in the final overs.
Fast bowler Ellyse Perry thrust out her foot and stopped a well-timed drive from Devine off the last ball of the match.
Had it gone past and made the boundary, the scores would have been tied and a super over would have been played.
"It is disappointing because we've been in this situation before in finals and not gone through. We've managed to do it again," Stead said.
"I think we just froze a little under the pressure of the situation. There was some good batting towards the end but perhaps we should have started that launch a little bit earlier.
"But you should give Australia their dues, they bowled really well. There was only eight boundaries hit in the whole game.
"It came down to a running-between-the-wickets duel and who fielded the best, and they were better than us today."
Stead said the atmosphere in the New Zealand dressing rooms after the game was morose.
"There were some pretty upset girls. I think this loss probably hurt them more than any other I've seen in my time.
"I've been involved in three finals now and I think there was a real belief in this team.
"I'm still really proud of the way the girls played ... and I think once we get over the line and start learning how to win those important matches and finals then this team will take another step forward."
Otago all-rounder Suzie Bates had a mixed tournament.
She scored 32 and 50 to help New Zealand defeat India and Sri Lanka in pool play.
But she missed out against Pakistan and again against the West Indies in the semifinal.
She got through to 18 in the final before mis-timing a shot and offering a simple catch.
Bates was used sparingly with the ball and had tournament figures of one for 54 from eight overs.
