T20 World Cup 2022 final: "I am still confident that this group of young men can lift the World Cup" - Matthew Hayden encourages Pakistan after loss to England
Pakistan team mentor Matthew Hayden addressed Babar Azam and Co. after a five-wicket loss to England in the T20 World Cup 2022 final. The former Aussie batter encouraged the Men in Green and believes they hold the potential to lift the trophy one day.
Despite their best efforts, Pakistan succumbed to a five-wicket defeat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday. After losing the toss, they only managed 137 on the board. Although their pace quartet gave it their all, England sneaked home with five wickets and an over to spare.
Matthew Hayden is proud of the team's effort and performance in the tournament.
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Speaking in a video uploaded to Twitter by the official PCB account, Hayden stated that his perception has not changed about Pakistan winning the World Cup as they have had plenty of learnings. Setting his sights on the 2023 World Cup in India, the Queenslander said:
"I just want to say on behalf of the support staff that we feel very privileged and honoured to be a part of that story. Take it back a month ago, when you all shared a meal at my house. I said that I was confident that you are going to lift the World Cup.
"Now that has not changed, nothing's changed, I am still confident that this group of young men can lift the World Cup."
He added:
"And I am confident that, we have also some clarity on how to move forward from this tournament. How to celebrate some great performances and how to acknowledge some of the weaknesses that we have had in the last month.
"Come the World Cup in India, again, we will be celebrating getting somewhere near the World Cup. It is amazing how far we have come in the tournament."
Pakistan had a topsy-turvy World Cup campaign, starting with consecutive defeats against India and Zimbabwe. They beat the Netherlands and South Africa convincingly, but still faced a steep road to the semi-finals. With the Dutch upsetting the Proteas, it cleared Pakistan's path.
The 2009 World T20 champions defeated Bangladesh to progress to the knockouts and overcame New Zealand to advance to the finals.
"I hope that I have been able to share my heart and my story of cricket" - Matthew Hayden
Hayden acknowledged the hurt the players would be feeling after losing the final, but reminded them to stick together through the thick and thin. He added:
"I know that you are going to be hurting, I know, it does hurt, but the reality is that we are so close. Such an important part of these last parts has been sharing time together. We have talked as men about what the future looked like and bang bang bang, results happened.
"So, guys, I am really proud of you. Thank you for sharing your inner sanctum with me and I hope that I have been able to share my heart and my story of cricket with you guys as well, and I am always honoured."
Alhumdulillah, couldn’t be more proud of my pack. You all fought like true warriors.
Thank you everyone for all the support. Pakistan Zindabad🇵🇰 https://t.co/IawHR5U7q8
Left-arm seamer Sam Curran earned the Player of the Match and the Tournament award. The Englishman bagged 13 wickets in the tournament, including three scalps in the final.