Guptill confident England tour a ‘success’

MANCHESTER, England: New Zealand opener Martin Guptill believes the team’s tour of England has been a success, regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s concluding Twenty20 international at Old Trafford.
The Black Caps shared a two-Test series 1-1 before the World Cup finalists went down 3-2 in a thrilling one-day series that finished with England’s dramatic three-wicket victory at the Riverside on Saturday.
Meanwhile the likes of fast bowler Matt Henry, seamer Ben Wheeler and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner have all shown promise in the early stages of their respective international careers.
“It has been a success,” Guptill, who made a fine 67 at the Riverside told reporters at Old Trafford on Monday.
“While it was disappointing to lose the one-day series and only draw the Test series, the guys that we’ve brought in — Matt Henry did very well on his Test debut and in his first couple of Tests, while Ben Wheeler and Mitch Santner have been successes for us in the one-day form,” he added.
“They’ve all got long careers ahead of them.”Reflecting on the mood within the New Zealand camp, the 28-year-old Guptill said: “It’s a pretty amazing series we just played in and unfortunately we came out on the wrong side.
“But the guys are still pretty confident and we’ll be up for tomorrow (Tuesday) night.”“We’ve come here to win. Hopefully we can end the tour on a high and leave with a smile on our faces.”
England and New Zealand have played in a succession of thrilling matches and Guptill, a veteran of 33 Tests and 113 ODIs, said: “The whole tour, the Test matches and the one-day series was pretty exciting.