‘Smith dismissal was the turning point’

Asked about the turning point in a contest in a post-match press conference, McClenaghan  said Smith’s dismissal was the crucial break-through. Smith was stumped off the bowling of Santner. 

“I don’t think in T20 you can ever think you’ve got the game, because it comes back to bite you in the bum and none of our guys think like that. But I guess the moment of the game for me was Mitchell Santner getting [Smith] off a length. The kid’s got class. He’s a great prospect for New Zealand cricket,” he said. 

And McClenaghan was adamant that defending small targets fast becoming a forte of this group was a by-product of the squad’s depth and belief in each other. 

“You’ve seen Mitch Santner and Ish Sodhi, and Nath [McCullum] in the first game, who can pull back a game if people get off to a good start. We got the benefit of watching how Australia bowled on that wicket, and thankfully we executed and the guys fielded exceptionally well as well,” McClenaghan said. 

He said New Zealand brought three spinners for this tournament and it was difficult to score off them on turning tracks.