Australia coach Darren Lehmann has leaped to the defence of under-fire wicketkeeper Brad Haddin after the veteran suggested New Zealand “deserved” the verbal barrage it received in Sunday’s World Cup final.
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Speaking to Triple M radio, a clearly under-the-weather Haddin said Martin Guptill and Grant Elliot “deserved” their send-offs during the Black Caps’ innings at the MCG.
“You know what? They deserved it,” Haddin is quoted as saying by AAP.
“They were that nice to us in New Zealand and we were that uncomfortable,” Haddin said.
“I said in the team meeting: ‘I can’t stand for this anymore, we’re going at them as hard as we can.’
“It was that uncomfortable. All they were was that nice to us for seven days.
“I said, ‘I’m not playing cricket like this. If we get another crack at these guys in the final I’m letting everything [out].’”
Haddin got right in the face of the New Zealand opener Martin Guptill after he was clean bowled by all-rounder Glenn Maxwell.
The veteran Australian clapped and yelled in the face of New Zealand’s semi-final hero, causing many to announce their displeasure in Haddin’s actions on Twitter.
However, Lehmann told FiveAA radio that Haddin’s actions were part of a tactical plan to beat New Zealand.
“He’s [Haddin] copped a bit, hasn’t he?” Lehmann is quoted as saying by Fairfax Media.
“We like to play our game, no-one got reported out of the game, so we must have played it fair. It was a little bit disappointing, but people are entitled to their opinions and you’re going to have good and bad times.
“You accept that and you move on.
“We’re happy with the way we played obviously. We knew we wanted to be really aggressive against them, and look, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
“You’re supposed to enjoy it, enjoy it in the right way and look after yourself and look after everyone else, that’s the main thing. Everyone’s entitled to their opinions.”
Australia defeated its Trans-Tasman rivals by seven wickets in what was very much a one-sided affair at the MCG.
Check out Haddin’s sending-off of Guptill below:
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