Anendra Singh: Black Caps bow out but wiser for it

Super losers, not once but twice in the super overs of the Super 8 stage of the Twenty20 World Cup cricket in Sri Lanka.

That's a pretty harsh label to slap on the Black Caps who have found themselves in five super-over scenarios after drawn matches in the history of the shortest format of the code.

If you belong to the half-glass full mob then you could go with the Super Unlucky tag but it doesn't matter how you dress it up, the reality remains New Zealand failed to register a victory when it came down to the business end of the cup.

But we shouldn't try to wipe out some of the dark memories of the cup as the Ross Taylor-skippered Kiwis chuck their sweat-soaked gear into their coffins before lugging them home.

Mental scarring is a possibility for some but it need not be a life-long affliction.

As clichéd as it sounds, the Mike Hesson-coached men would have learned a lot more from the two defeats than the lopsided victory over Bangladesh in the qualifying stage.

It's a pity the game was played between 11pm to 2.30am but those youngsters who dare to dream of representing their country or district someday would have watched the replay the next day during the school holidays.

The astute ones would have noticed that it pays for bowlers to always measure their run up every time they start a new spell.

As Tim Southee will forever remember after gifting West Indian master blaster Chris Gayle a no-ball six, the final lunge of the run up must have the intensity of an effort ball.

As good as Southee appeared in the super over against Sri Lanka in the previous defeat, the Northern Districts seamer effectively bowled four consecutive wide deliveries. Only the batsmen stepping away from their leg stumps to play shots kept him in the game.

As outgoing bowling coach Damien Wright buried his head into his hands following Southee's opening delivery in the super over against the Windies, it makes one wonder if the Australian's successor will impress the significance of a fading delivery from the off stump as a safer option.

It didn't help that Southee was letting the TV cameras get to him while the Black Caps huddled for a quick korero before the super over.

Taylor opening against the Windies was a shift from Martin Guptill opening with Brendon McCullum against the hosts.

Did the Caps err in dropping batsman Kane Williamson, who offers a part-time spin option, for allrounder Jacob Oram?

As pivotal as the veteran Central Districts Stags allrounder's experience was in the tourney, had he recovered sufficiently from his tummy bug?

His pale face and lethargic bowling effort suggested otherwise.

Besides, you could argue the New Zealanders desperately needed someone like Williamson to keep ticking the strike over with Taylor when the run rate started dipping.

Take a bow Daniel Vettori for stepping down when he knew he wasn't going to be 100 per cent for a crucial match.

If the Caps don't want to have the recurring nightmare of Gayle and his teammates doing the Gangnam Style dance, they have to be more rule savvy.

Flirting with the laws is fast becoming a game within the game as the Windies openly exhibited when they rested the likes of Ravi Rampaul and talented spinner Sunil Narine.

Kids, no matter how good a bowler you are, never adopt Narine's lackadaisical attitude to fielding.

Should the Windies inherit a spinner of equal calibre Narine will become redundant unless he starts sliding and soiling his strip on the boundary.

The Kiwis won hands down in the composure department.

While the Windies appeared to be in disarray deciding who should bowl the super over and captain Darren Sammy rolling his sleeve before fulltime bowlers, the Caps were thoroughly organised with just Wright left to instil chest-thumping confidence in his protégé.

Perhaps Hesson and Taylor should have thrown young guns, such as Doug Bracewell, Roneel Hira and BJ Watling, into the mix a little earlier in the tourney.

What Bracewell and Hira lacked in experience they made up for with enthusiasm and, no doubt, the promise of battle-hardened campaigners who will soon return home with the silverware.

For the record, if success is as easy as replacing captains and coaches then the Black Caps would have been world beaters decades ago.

My prediction that Pakistan will win is still alive after yesterday's outstanding display to leave Australia in a daze.

It was the best display of spin attack I've seen as Pakistan only employed the services of swingman Umar Gul only in the 18th and final overs.