In the wake of the 2019 Cricket World Cup final madness, Kane Williamson believes the spoils should have been shared.
The Blackcaps skipper was still feeling raw less than 24 hours after his side lost their shot at a first World Cup triumph against England at Lord's.
But the nature of the defeat has Williamson pondering a few what-if moments - New Zealand losing via a 'super over' tie-breaker rule.
- Craig McMillan 'Gutted' following Blackcaps heartbreaking final loss
- Should England have got six runs for deflection - or five?
- Super over: Cruel end to dramatic Cricket World Cup final
Cricket's showpiece event came down to a curious countback of match boundaries - the eventual champions pipping New Zealand 26-17.
With time to reflect, the tournament's best player suggested crowning co-world champions would have been the fair result.
"I think, all in all, it was a real shame the tournament was decided in the way it was, after two teams went at it - in two attempts of playing cricket games - and it was still a tie," Williamson told Newshub.
The 28-year-old struggled to address his team afterwards, given they didn't lose on the field. Having the end result taken out of your hands in the moment of battle was strange to comprehend.
"Make sense of it? I think that'll take quite a bit of time, actually.
"Such a fine line, maybe the worst part is there's so much you can't control in those situations and it still eventuates the way it did.
"But it's a game of cricket isn't it. Guys were gutted, like truly gutted.
"Naturally, you reflect on a game like that, even if it wasn't a World Cup final, but you add that to the mix, you look at small margins throughout the whole match, not just this one or that one.
"Everybody's thinking about their role and what could've been different.
"But I think when you get to that stage, you almost take it a step further and realise it's almost outside of your control, and the guys put in such a huge effort in that final - in both games - in that final.
"And it wasn't quite enough for one reason or another."
Williamson admitted sleeping was a hard task in the immediacy of such an emotional rollercoaster, although for one fleeting moment, he wondered if the result was his imagination playing tricks on him.
"I explained it to a few people, it sort of hits you in waves. You feel like, for 10 minutes, you forget about it and you make little jokes.
"Then it comes back to you and you go 'phhhh, did that just happen? Did that just happen? Is that real?'.
"I woke up wondering whether it was a bad dream and it wasn't, was it?"
Williamson will be back to business soon enough, with the Blackcaps touring Sri Lanka next month.
But for the immediate future, he's looking forward to taking a mental break from cricket.
"I will go and have a few days off, and go catch up with some family, and head home in a week or so.
"That'll be good."
Newshub.
