Hyderabad: New Zealand is the only side other than the mighty Australians, which has been a consistent performer in the ICC Cricket World Cup. The Kiwi team has reached the semifinals of the marquee event six times however they are yet to win their maiden title.
The Black Caps reached the final of the fifty overs mega tournament in 2015 WC under the captaincy of swashbuckling Brendon McCullum. However, Michael Clarke-led Australia shattered their hope to lift the WC by thrashing them by seven wickets.
And now four years later, when Kane Williamson-led New Zealand will start their campaign against Sri Lanka on 6th June, they will aim to finish this World Cup in style by lifting the prestigious trophy.
Etv Bharat does a SWOT analysis of the New Zealand side for the upcoming event:
Strengths:
The calm and composed leadership of Kane Williamson, who is also counted among one of the modern-day greats, is arguably the biggest strength of the Kiwi team.
Williamson is known for leading his side from the front and his recent form in a big positive for New Zealand.
Middle-order batsman Ross Taylor, who is also currently the most consistent performer at number four, will hold the key for Kiwis in the middle order.
Taylor has been in phenomenal form in the last couple of years, the Kiwi cricketer boasts of an average of 60.50, 91.29 and 74.13 in 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively.
Can New Zealand take wing this time? Weaknesses:
With Collin Munro out of form, the slot for the opening partner of Martin Guptill remains a cause of concern for Williamson and Co. Henry Nicholls is expected to open Kiwis innings along with Guptill and if the Black Caps wants to reach the next round of the tournament, these two players will have to click together.
Another major weakness of Williamson-led side is their inability to cope with quality spin. As most of the team of the CWC, including India, England, Australia, South Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, possessing quality spinners, it will be interesting to see how the Kiwi side will tackle their weakness.
Major concern:
One of the biggest concerns for Black Caps is their habit of losing momentum at crucial stages of the ICC events. For example, despite reaching the finals four years ago, New Zealand had literally surrendered before Australia and was just not able to give any fight to the mighty Aussies.
Squad: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor
