Mike Hesson denies New Zealand have Australia phobia after defeat in T20 World Cup final

Auckland: Denying claims that New Zealand have a “phobia “of facing their Trans-Tasman rivals, former coach Mike Hesson said Australia are simply good at countering swing bowling, something that India struggle with. New Zealand lost the T20 World Cup final to Australia last week. It was reminiscent to their 2015 ODI World Cup final’s defeat to the same opponent. “I guess we’ve only really had two big occasions haven’t we (recently), the 2015 World Cup and this one in terms of finals,” Hesson told SEN NZ, when asked if the Kiwis have a “phobia” of the Australians in cricket terms. “We’ve beaten them a heck of a lot in Chappell-Hadlees over the last six or seven years, and we’ve basically retained it the majority of the time.” [caption id=“attachment_8572821” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  File image of former New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson. Reuters[/caption] India, on the other hand, have a poor record versus New Zealand in major International Cricket Council (ICC) events stretching back to 18 years. India’s seven-wicket win in the 2003 World Cup under Sourav Ganguly was the last time they beat the Kiwis in an ICC tournament. The Men in Blue recently lost to the Kiwis in the T20 World Cup and the World Test Championship final earlier this year. They were also knocked out by Kane Williamson and Co in the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-finals. The 47-year-old also shed light on why New Zealand fare so well against India in ICC tournaments. “Each side has got better matchups than others. We obviously do very well against India, Australia struggle against India. “I think it’s just the way the side’s matchup against each other from a skill perspective, what we’re good at facing and what they’re good at facing. Australia tends to deal with our swing bowling a lot better than the Indians do. So, I think it’s more matchup than phobia from my perspective. Hesson, who guided New Zealand to the final of the 2019 ODI World Cup, feels the Australian players also have more experience of playing matches at the big stage than their Kiwi counterparts. “I think we’re okay in bi-laterals, it’s when we get to a big stage and more of their players have potentially played more big matches, but I don’t think necessarily there’s a phobia.”