New Zealand eye another surprise

Last edition’s runner-ups are not in their best form

New Zealand are one of the most interesting cases in international cricket. They enter pretty much any and every International Cricket Council (ICC) event as a team that is not in the books of any pundit to go any further than the group stage but somehow, they always manage to find ways to get to the very end.

They did something similar last year as well where they finished as the runners-up in the ICC T20 World Cup.

The surprise was not that they ended as the second-best team in the competition, something they did in the recent past as well, the major shock was that they made it through to the grand final in conditions which were alien to them not that long ago.

On their way to the final, the defeated favourites India in the group stage and England in the last-four contest.

This year, once again, they will enter the mega-event as a team that not many will fear about but they surely have the firepower to surprise any and every opposition around on a given day.

Strengths:

New Zealand’s strength is their bowling department where there are plenty of options to pick from for captain Kane Williamson.

The pace department is looking extremely threatening for any opposition with the presence of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne.

The presence of two all-rounders who can also contribute significantly with the ball and are more than just decent pacers James Neesham and Daryl Mitchell will bring the much-needed balance to the side.

In terms of the spin department, Willimason will have three reliable options to choose from in the presence of Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell.

Those options should be enough for the Black Caps to pose threat to any batting lineup in the competition, especially in conditions Down Under where there will be more than just some assistance for pacers in particular.

Weakness:

As a surprise to many, the weakness of the Black Caps in the upcoming competition will be their batting department.

There are just too many players who are not contributing either enough or like the way the team management would’ve wanted them to.

The form of captain Williamson remains a concern for the Kiwis’ coaching staff as well as since the start of 2021, the right-hander has scored 502 runs in 19 innings at an average of 31.37 along with the strike-rate of less than 119.

Those numbers are just not good enough anymore in international T20s where the sides are more than comfortable with this kind of batter around.

Another player who is in terrible form is veteran right-hander Martin Guptill. The 36-year-old has a fabulous record in T20Is but in 2022, he is averaging just over 23 and with a strike-rate of 122.75, the lowest he had since 2017.

These two players have been the cornerstone of New Zealand’s batting for a while now and with them not contributing as they use to in the past, the team might it hard to deliver on the big stage.

Their form will also put pressure on the likes of Finn Allen, Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell to make significant contributions with the bat.

Fixtures:

New Zealand are placed in Group 1 in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 along side neighbours and defending champions Australia, England, Afghanistan and two teams from the qualifying round.

The Black Caps will play their opening fixture against their last year’s final opponent on October 22 in Sydney whereas their final league fixture will be played November 04 in Adelaide.

Squad:

Kane Williamson (c), Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner, Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, Martin Guptill, Lachlan Ferguson, Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Trent Boult, Finn Allen