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Martin Devlin: Black Caps' World Cup loss still hurts one year on

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Mon, 13 Jul 2020, 1:50PM

Martin Devlin: Black Caps' World Cup loss still hurts one year on

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Mon, 13 Jul 2020, 1:50PM

Where were you and what were you doing this time last year?

If you think long and hard enough you will well remember that tomorrow, July 14th, marks one of the most disappointing days in your sport watching life.

Yes, it's the one year anniversary of the Black Caps losing the CWC 1-day final. And not just losing but being robbed by a stupid rule that they've since axed from cricket's law book.

We lost because they hit more boundaries than us. As silly as it sounds is as cruel as it actually was.  The injustice still rankles, the bitterness as raw as it was a year ago. Who, apart from no-one, can honestly say they've gotten over it? Because whoever once stupidly said that time heals all was obviously never a sports fan.

Time doesn't heal. Time only makes it worse, so much worse. I'm still reeling from Bobby Stokes scoring an offside winner for Southampton against my Beloved Man United in the 1976 FA Cup final. No amount of counselling seems to work. And it never will.

Ask yourself, will you be watching any replays tomorrow? And why not? Because it's torturous. Because it's like going to the stereo and putting on that song that reminds you of your first lost love.

Why would you do it when you already know how it ends? Misery and pain, bitterness and resentment, a lifelong struggle of broken dreams, tears and torment.

Am I exaggerating? Hell no! Are you over it yet? Don't even try to kid yourself. 

12 months later, the wounds are still as raw as the day that stupid bunch of  doddery old ditherers called the ICC decided the only fair way to decide the greatest game of 1-day cricket ever played was by way of some long lost unknown rule no-one had previously even heard of. Bitter? You bet.

And no compensation at all that the ICC have now quashed it so no other team will ever bear a similar fate. One year to the day tomorrow we'll all remember it's a year too bloody late mate.

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