Under-fire Martin Guptill admitted it has been extremely tough to ignore criticism of his batting in the ongoing Cricket World Cup but remained confident that come the final at Lord’s he would try to fire on all cylinders.
Guptill, one of New Zealand’s most experienced batsmen has managed just 167 runs in nine outings at an average of 20.87. Since his 73* in the opening game against Sri Lanka he has five single-digit scores in the next eight innings, with a highest score of 35.
“It’s bloody tough,” Guptill told 1 News. “You try not to read what people are writing and hear what people are saying but it’s hard to tear away from it all.
“The hard work [behind the scenes] probably goes unseen. I have always put in a lot of time in. For it not to be working out in the middle, it’s frustrating.
“People can say they were frustrated with me, but no one is as frustrated as what I am.”
Describing his situation as “catch-22”, Guptill insisted that he has been hitting the ball really well in the nets and that it was all about coming off in the middle. He hoped it happened on the grandest stages of it all in the final.
“The last couple of nets I’ve probably felt the best I have since I’ve been here,” he added.
“I’m just trying to carry on with what I’ve been doing, work hard in the nets and hopefully in the next game it all comes together.”
