For Charlie Dean, there was "no way that we were losing that game".
Try telling that to England fans huddled in the stands on a gloriously sunny, if chilly, May day in Durham. Or New Zealand, who had reduced them to 42 for 3 and then 160 for 7 with Dean the only recognised batter with her wicket still intact. Or the journalists writing alternative versions of the story like a choose-your-own adventure and hoping they picked the right one before rushing to hit "send".
But the only belief she needed was her own and that of the team she was leading for the first time as acting captain for the injured Nat Sciver-Brunt. She believed and so did her disciples and so it came to pass that England clinched victory with one wicket and ten balls to spare.
Yet, somehow, this felt less like the rousing win England needed to start the international summer with a home T20 World Cup at its apex, and more like what we have seen many times before.
Fielding errors, failures with the bat, and a run chase that became much harder than it should have been, especially after New Zealand had been bowled out for 210 inside their 50-over allocation in an innings built solely around one partnership between Amelia Kerr and Maddy Green.
Yep, there was a whole lotta ugly out there under beautiful skies which, 24 hours earlier, had been dank and grey and oh-so-English. But head coach Charlotte Edwards wanted this England to show some mongrel and win under pressure. They did that thanks to Dean, with an unbeaten 31 as she and lower-order batters Lauren Bell, Lauren Filer and 18-year-old debutant Tilly Corteen-Coleman reeled in the 51 runs required between them.
"I had a lot of trust in our lower order," Dean said. "Belly was fantastic. I think our lower order - nine, ten, 11 - faced at least 40 [41] balls, which was fantastic and helped us to win the game."
"I can't lie, I was a bit nervy. I had a lot of faith in the batters and, as Deano said, I honestly didn't think we were going to lose that game, but there's always a small part of you that puts a lot of pressure on yourself and wants the best for the team" Tilly Corteen-Coleman
There were a few ugly moments through that phase too. Dean should have been the last batter out when, on 27 and with seven runs still needed, she sliced straight to backward point and was dropped by Nensi Patel.
Dean then failed to retain the strike at the end of the over and let Corteen-Coleman take a single off the last ball of the next. As it turned out, two more singles got England over the line with Dean striking the winning run.
"I've batted in a few of those situations before," Dean said. "Started to learn how to manage myself, trying to take low-risk options and high rewards. But for me, there was no way that we were losing that game.
"To get ourselves into such a good position, it's always good when you can win the tight games. I had no doubts that we would pull through and I guess that sort of mindset is what helped me in that situation.
"I like to be busy and get off strike. It's hard to unlearn that in a way. So I think if I have an idea and a role, I'd like to commit and stick to that a bit more. But equally, it wasn't just on me out there to get those runs and the girls stepped up really nicely."
Dean wasn't even supposed to be playing originally. She was supposed to be sitting out these three ODIs to manage her workload ahead of T20I series against New Zealand and India as part of the squad that will also contest the T20 World Cup after a back stress injury that emerged in January.
But when regular captain Sciver-Brunt tore her calf, deputy Dean was called up to lead a squad missing several other key players. Batters Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge were also rested for the ODI series, Alice Capsey was ruled out of the first game by illness, fast bowler Issy Wong was struck by hamstring tightness during the warm-up - although she was replaced by the familiar Filer - and seamer Em Arlott will play no part in the series after being concussed in the nets on match eve.
Against that backdrop, Corteen-Coleman made her international debut alongside allrounder Jodi Grewcock, with Dani Gibson playing her first ODI after 22 T20Is and an injury hampered year.
Corteen-Coleman was the standout among them, complementing two wickets each for Dean and Bell with 2 for 49 herself and then holding her nerve in the run chase with an unbeaten 3 in six balls.
She credited Dean's leadership with keeping her calm. "I can't lie, I was a bit nervy," Corteen-Coleman said. "I had a lot of faith in the batters and, as Deano said, I honestly didn't think we were going to lose that game, but there's always a small part of you that puts a lot of pressure on yourself and wants the best for the team.
"Having Deano out there with me, I just had such a sense of clarity, really felt like I knew what my role was. I felt like we committed to that well. It was a good partnership. I can't say I contributed too much to it, but hopefully did my part."
Worryingly for England, they remained sloppy in the field, a problem they have been acutely aware of since the last T20 World Cup. Maia Bouchier, who top-scored for the hosts with 59 after being called up as batting cover for Sciver-Brunt, dropped a sitter at gully off Georgia Plimmer and the number of misfields continued to mount for England.
Dean admitted they "weren't the cleanest today" in the field but, rather than express frustration at her side's inability to convert touted improvements in training to catches held under match conditions, she showed faith.
"A few fumbles, a drop, but it really excites me what I see at training and I can't wait to see what we achieve this series because we still have lots of learnings and we can definitely get better," she said. "That only excites me. I think there were a few nerves around today, but we're a better fielding unit than that and I'm looking forward to seeing it."
So too, no doubt, are England's supporters.