New Zealand coach Mike Hesson spoke of the gloom that has descended on their dressing room as the team took absolutely no joy out of their dominating performance in the Test match on Friday.
– New Zealand coach Mike Hesson reflects on the difficulty of playing conditions
– Record century from Brendon McCullum hands New Zealand advantage
– World cricket provides moving Phil Hughes Twitter tribute with #putyourbatsout
Speaking after the day’s play, Hesson started his media conference reading a statement from the players and officials on Australian star Phil Hughes, who passed away on Thursday after being hit on his head during a first-class match Down Under.
Hesson said: “I think everybody dealt it in different ways, everybody in the team is affected, some very deeply.
“Today wasn’t about cricket, today was about supporting one of our fellow players. I think the key for us was to help the individuals in the group who were struggling more than the others and get through the day.
“The time was difficult. We weren’t conscious of the performance, we were just looking after each other.
“The game was irrelevant at that stage. That (not celebrating) was just a natural reaction by a group of people whose mind was elsewhere.
“We didn’t have anyone in the close field under a helmet and didn’t bowl any bouncer and that was to show respect.”
Pakistan opener Mohammad Hafeez, who scored his career best Test knock of 197, dedicated the innings to Hughes and said one of the reasons his team lost seven quick wickets in the morning session was because they weren’t able to concentrate properly.
“The mood was really depressing and while batting, thoughts of Phil came to my mind. I just took it one ball at a time and I would like to dedicate my highest Test score to Phil Hughes,” he said.
“There is no doubt that the innings played by McCullum was outstanding. He just put the entire pressure on us.
“It was a bad day for us. Really, this was the first time in almost four-five weeks since we started playing Tests here that we did not win a single session during the day. So, we will have to plan better tom-orrow to come back into this Test match,” he added.