New Zealand has approximately 5.2 million citizens, which equates to less than 0.3 per cent of India’s estimated population.
Despite cricket being one of New Zealand’s most popular summer sports, the majority of the nation’s attention over the past fortnight has been on the Rugby World Cup in France. The Black Caps have been an afterthought across the Tasman.
New Zealand entered this year’s Cricket World Cup with a wounded, ageing squad. Their captain hadn’t played any professional cricket in nearly six months, while their most experienced bowler was nursing a dislocated thumb.
However, halfway through the tournament, the Black Caps once again loom as genuine title contenders.
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After thrashing England in their opener in Ahmedabad, they knocked off the Netherlands, Bangladesh and Afghanistan with ease before falling short against hosts India.
New Zealand currently sits third on the World Cup standings, needing to win two of their remaining four group stage matches to book their spot in the semi-finals — even one victory could be enough, pending net run rate and other results.
Batting averages in the 2023 World Cup
64.83 — India
52.19 — New Zealand
48.76 — South Africa
34.11 — Sri Lanka
32.53 — Pakistan
30.66 — Australia
27.12 — Afghanistan
26.14 — Bangladesh
24.23 — England
19.58 — Netherlands
The Black Caps achieved this despite essentially only having 13 players at their disposal. Kane Williamson missed the first half of the tournament with a knee injury before fracturing his thumb in his long-awaited return against Bangladesh. Meanwhile, veteran bowler Tim Southee is yet to make an appearance in the tournament as he battles a thumb injury of his own.
Before the tournament got underway earlier this month, few pundits picked the Black Caps for their semi-final predictions. Former Australian batter Mark Waugh, for example, acknowledged New Zealand’s squad was packed with talent, but didn’t expect them to qualify for the knockouts.
Neither did Michael Vaughan, Shane Watson, Jacques Kallis, Aaron Finch, James Anderson, Alex Hartley, Carlos Brathwaite or Ebony Rainford-Brent.
“They just do the basics right, and they’ve got a lot of self-belief,’ Waugh told Fox Cricket this week.
“They just do the basics well. Time and time again.
“There’s no egos in that New Zealand squad. They’re playing for each other, and you can see it on the field.
“They’re a happy team, and they’re a consistent team.”
Bowling economy rate in the 2023 World Cup
4.81 — India
5.06 — New Zealand
5.44 — Australia
5.68 — South Africa
5.69 — Afghanistan
6.07 — Netherlands
6.24 — Pakistan
6.33 — Bangladesh
6.36 — England
6.44 — Sri Lanka
New Zealand, everyone’s second favourite team, perennially punch above their weight in ICC events, featuring in the semi-finals at every World Cup since 2007 — only Australia has won more World Cup matches since the inaugural tournament in 1975.
Despite the nation’s low population and scant funding, the Black Caps continue to produce their best cricket when the quadrennial tournament rolls around.
They may not have a plethora of world-class superstars at their disposal, but New Zealand’s consistency makes them a genuine threat towards the back-end of the tournament.
“They play brilliant cricket as a unit, especially in World Cup competition,” Indian legend Ravi Shastri told Fox Cricket.
“You look at their record, right since 1975, they’ve always been that semi-final team, that final team, and they always threaten.
“You look at this side, they’re suddenly looking very dangerous.
“They are a team you’ve got to watch out for, because they play extremely well as a unit.
“Watch out for them.”
Most Men’s World Cup wins before 2023
69 — Australia
54 — New Zealand
53 — India
48 — England
45 — Pakistan
43 — West Indies
38 — South Africa
38 — Sri Lanka
14 — Bangladesh
11 — Zimbabwe
7 — Ireland
6 — Kenya
The Blacks Caps have become proven giant slayers at World Cup tournaments, knocking off South Africa during a rain-affected semi-final in Auckland in 2015 before upsetting India at Old Trafford four years later.
But of course, they fell short in the final on both occasions. New Zealand was utterly outclassed by a talented Australian outfit in 2015 before losing by “the barest of margins” against England in 2019.
Trent Boult and Kane Williamson, who featured in both final heartbreaks in 2015 and 2019, will be desperate to make amends in their last World Cup campaign.
“They never play badly, you’re always going to have to beat New Zealand, no matter what the game is, and that’s been the case so far in this tournament,” Waugh continued.
“They’re always hard to beat.
“They were obviously very unlucky in 2019 against England, so they haven’t been far away.
“This time, they’re playing as well as anybody, so you wouldn’t put it past them to go all the way in this tournament.”
New Zealand will next face Australia at Dharamshala’s Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday, with the first ball scheduled for 4pm AEDT.
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