KIWI HOPES

The current ODI form of the two nations from down under is really contrasting. Australia have come back from the depths of the Ashes to beat England comprehensively. On the other hand their Trans Tasman neighbours have been struggling to win an ODI (although they did win the first ODI of the current series against Pakistan) since August last year. Since then they have been humbled by Bangladesh, beaten by India and stunned by Pakistan. However, they know and the rest of the cricket world knows that they have the talent to win. It is just a matter of time that they click and produce results but the question is when?

In the past it always seemed as if New Zealand reserved its best for the World Cup and when they play Australia. Out of the nine world cups played they have reached the semifinals in five of them. In 1992 it almost seemed as if they would go on to win the tournament but were cut short by some brilliance from Inzamam-ul-haq in the semifinals. Going into the last World Cup they looked like the only team that could beat the strong Australian side. Since then they have gone through numerous changes in their squad. The likes of Fleming, Bond and McMillan have retired which I think left a big hole in their ODI plans. To be fair to them they haven’t been lucky as some of their main players were out injured at some time or the other in the course of the last four years. Oram, Styris, Franklin etc missed quite a lot of matches and this affected their plans as these players are the experienced lot. When you have a few settled experienced players in the team can you build the team for the future and groom the youngsters along the way.

The problem with New Zealand is that they are low on confidence. When a team’s confidence is low, the batsmen would be unable to convert starts and the bowlers wouldn’t be able to pick up wickets. It is a funny thing confidence. Whenever the New Zealand batsmen have got the runs, the bowlers haven’t been able to defend the total and when the bowlers have restricted the other team or pulled things back considerably, their batsmen have faltered. This just indicates lack of confidence on their part and going into the World Cup that is the first thing they would like to change.
New Zealand are going to the World Cup under coach John Wright who knows a thing or two about reaching the final. I think he is the right man for the job as he was in a similar position with India before the 2003 World Cup. Back then, India were hammered in the ODI series in New Zealand and had lost a game to a second string Kwazulu Natal team. To make matters worse they just got past Netherlands and were hammered by Australia, and we all know what happened after that. While reading his book “Indian Summers” I realized that he was a kind of a guy who could motivate his players and get the best out of them. If he can do the same to New Zealand it would really help them improve and maybe stun everyone but ultimately the game has to be played by the players on the field. The Black Caps squad for the World Cup is:

1. Daniel Vettori (captain)
2. Brendon McCullum (wicket-keeper)
3. Ross Taylor
4. Jacob Oram
5. Nathan McCullum
6. Martin Guptill
7. Jesse Ryder
8. Scott Styris
9. James Franklin
10. Jamie How
11. Kane Williamson
12. Tim Southee
13. Kyle Mills
14. Luke Woodcock
15. Hamish Bennett

When I look at this line-up and see names like Styris, Oram, Taylor, the McCullums, Vettori, Styris etc I say to myself “They can be really dangerous on their day.” The batting line-up looks really strong with the Williamson, Guptill and Ryder accompanying the previously mentioned players. However, they do not have a settled first eleven. Due to injuries to a few players and their latest results they have been making a lot of changes to their team. Vettori and Wright have said that they will pick their XI at the World Cup and it remains to be seen what line-up they would choose. I think they could have selected one more spinner just to give them the variety but for that they would have to drop a batsman or a fast bowler. According to me, Nathan McCullum and Vettori would have to bowl their full quota of 10 overs each and the fast men and the part timers would have to bowl the next 30 between them. One can pick seven or eight players of this squad and say that they will surely be a part of the playing eleven. Ryder, the McCullum brothers, Vettori, Oram, Taylor and Styris should most certainly play. The rest of the spots have to be chosen very wisely considering the balance of the team. Mills seems to be the only certainty in the fast bowling department. The rest of them have to be chosen considering their overall abilities. If Franklin can bowl then he would get the nod as an allrounder. Southee is another player who can play as a fast bowler and can be useful as a tailender as well. It is very difficult to choose an eleven from the given fifteen and Vettori and Wright would have to make some really tough decisions in the sub continent.

Coming to the batting, I think the responsibility to anchor the innings would have to be taken by either Guptill or Styris. If the others can revolve around them then New Zealand would be able to post some good scores on the board. The key man for me is Scott Styris. He was really good in the Caribbean the last time around and the same would be expected of him. McCullum and Ryder would be expected to play their natural game which is to go after the bowlers

STRENGTHS:
1. Presence of some game changers: Ryder, Brendon McCullum, Taylor, Ryder and Vettori posses the ability to change the game at any time. If any one of them has a field day then the match can turn in their favour heavily. I would stress again that these men would have to bat around Guptill and Styris who can play some long knocks.
2. Fielding: New Zealand were and are one of the best fielding sides in World Cricket. On a television program yesterday Steve Waugh said that fielding is going to be a major factor in this World Cup.
3. Daniel Vettori: This man can do anything that the team need. When they want him to pick wickets, he does, when they want him to stay in the middle and score runs, he does that as well.

WEAKNESSES:
1. Fast Bowling: Since Bond has retired New Zealand are finding it very difficult to find the right combination in their fast bowling attack. Kyle Mills and Southee seem to be the only ones settled in the eleven but they have some new faces in their line-up like Woodcock and Bennett. One of them will play to give support to the two of them. Franklin can bowl but he isn’t picking up wickets off late.

MY PREDICTION:
They will get through to the quarterfinals but if they have to make any progress beyond that then they really have to play some great cricket. Going on current form it doesn’t seem very likely that they will reach their sixth semi final.

WARM UP FIXTURES:
1. Versus Ireland at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur. On February 12 at 02:30 PM IST.
2. Versus India at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. On February 16 at 02:30 PM IST.

GROUP FIXTURES:
1. Versus Kenya at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. On February 20 at 09:30 AM IST.
3. Versus Australia at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur. On February 25 at 09:30 AM IST.
2. Versus Zimbabwe at Sardar Patel Motera Stadium, Ahmedabad. On March 4 at 09:30 AM IST.
3. Versus Pakistan at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele, Sri Lanka. On March 8 at 02:30 PM Sri Lankan Time (same as IST).
4. Versus Canada at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. On March 13 at 09:30 AM IST.
5. Versus Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. On March 18 at 02:30 PM IST

RECORD IN PREVIOS TOURNAMENTS:
1975: Semi Finalists. Lost to West Indies in the semi final.
1979: Semi Finalists. Lost to England in the semi final.
1983: Eliminated in the first round.
1987: Eliminated in the first round.
1992: Semi Finalists. Lost to Pakistan in the semi final.
1996: Quarter Finalists. Lost to Australia in the quarterfinal.
1999: Semi Finalists. Lost to Pakistan in the semi final.
2003: Eliminated in the Super-sixes.
2007: Semi Finalists. Lost to Sri Lanka in the semi final.

MOST RUNS: Stephen Fleming. 1075 runs in 33 matches at an average of 35.83.

MOST WICKETS: Chris Harris. 32 wickets in 28 matches at an average of 26.90.