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Daniel Vettori - Source: Photosport -
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New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has lashed out at the Duckworth/Lewis Method for rain-interrupted games after his side were beaten by Australia by 12 runs in the second one-day international.
Chasing a revised target of 266 from 45 overs at Auckland's Eden Park, the Black Caps were dismissed for 253 in 43.2 overs with Ryan Harris bowling a gallant Vettori out for 70 to be the last man to fall.
"We did a fantastic job with the ball to restrict Australia on a good wicket and a small ground (to 7-273), but we put ourselves under too much pressure with the bat, losing wickets consistently and we were always up against it," Vettori said.
"Those wickets in the top order really hurt us.
"It's a total we should have got but we just consistently lost wickets, as simple as that.
"We put ourselves under too much pressure and couldn't maximise those last 10 overs including the power play."
Vettori, regarded as one of finest thinkers in world cricket, says the D/L Method still puzzles him.
"There's a lot of things in cricket I don't understand and that's one of them. To lose two power play overs and to only have eight runs taken off... I don't know how that works," he said.
"It makes it incredibly tough. It would have been a lot better for us if the game had gone 50 overs."
Vettori's effort in scoring 70 from 49 balls and taking 2-43 while captaining the side was a herculean one given he almost missed a second consecutive game with a neck strain.
He said he was considering not playing on Saturday but when key batsman Ross Taylor pulled out with a hamstring strain, that made up his mind to battle through.
The Kiwis had further injury dramas in the game with all-rounder James Franklin batting with a runner after hurting his hamstring.
Both are in doubt for the remaining three games.
"It was a case of having to (play) after Ross went down," Vettori said.
"Potentially if he hadn't gone down it would have been a struggle (to play).
"After my performance it was half the battle just getting on the park. If you can force yourself to get on the park then everything takes care of itself."
Vettori said he was feeling a bit stiff but hoped to play in Hamilton on Tuesday. He said at the start of the day on Saturday he planned to bat at No.11, rather than No.8.
But he started feeling better as he bowled.
"Once you get in the game you feel like you want to be part of it," he said.
