ICC ODI Ranking: 3rd.
Batters: Kane Williamson (Capt), Tom Blundell (WK), Martin Guptill, Tom Latham (WK), Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor
Bowlers: Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson
All Rounders: Colin de Grandhome, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner
Don’t Sleep On:
-Henry Nicholls: Coming off a prolific ODI & Test series against Bangladesh in March, Nicholls secured his place on the roster. Any and all additional runs batters not named Kane Williamson or Ross Taylor can produce will be huge for the Blackcaps.
-Mitchell Santner: Spin is becoming more and more important in this format of the game, so Santner’s play has a chance to be a difference maker. Don’t sleep on Santer’s batting acumen either. As he showed against England, he can tee off out of nowhere.
-Lockie Ferguson: 🔥🔥🔥What Santner brings to the spin, Ferguson brings to the pace. The fireball-throwing rightie won’t be asked to carry the load, but he’ll need to pick up key wickets match in and match out if New Zealand wants to get out of group play.
Needed to Make a Run:
–Trent Boult: I’m not saying Boultee has to lead the World Cup in wickets like in 2015, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt! New Zealand needs Boult to come out firing and lead this team from the front. With limited action in the IPL, Boult should have the energy needed to carry this team.
–Ross Taylor: Is there a more overlooked, elite batter in the world than Ross Taylor? With a score of 69 and 45 amongst his most recent ODI matches, Taylor is more than capable of putting the team on his back if needed. Don’t be shocked if Taylor single-handedly wins a match this tournament.
Key to the Cup:
-Kane Williamson: Was there ever a doubt? Kane is one of the top 4 batters in the world right now. He has the ability to take over a match regardless of the situation. An early wicket at the start? Kane’s going to hold steady and right the ship. If New Zealand wants to make a deep run, then it starts and stops with Kane Williamson’s decision making as captain and ability in the crease.
Why Should You Watch?
A balanced attack that can win a match in a variety of ways. When on, they can bowl you out with relative ease, or chase down a high total. They’re also prone to risking too much while batting, leading to random run outs, which is both exciting and incredibly frustrating.
How Fun is this Team? (7/10)
The New Zealand way is to remain calm and keep things under control. While that’s an effective and, ultimately, winning formula, it doesn’t exactly make for a spectacle. What the players lack in showing emotion, they more than make up for with explosive play. Don’t forget it’s Martin Guptill who has the highest run total in World Cup history after his 237 against the West Indies in the 2015 edition.
Best Case
The Best case for this team is a Semi-Final run. A trip to the finals is certainly possible depending on the matchup, but it would take a good amount of things falling the right way for New Zealand to take home the World Cup.
Worst Case
Struggling to establish a strong bowling attack, the Blackcaps fail to make it out of group play and get sent home with a sub .500 record. The inability to get key wickets caused New Zealand an early exit in the ICC Champions Cup in 2017, the last major tournament held in England. A similar result isn’t out of the question.
Prediction
It’s going to come down to how well the Blackcaps play when they’re the underdogs. They’ll need to steal a win from either England, India, South Africa, or Australia to make the deep run they’re capable of.
The American Slogger 