New Zealand did well in the warm-up matches. But going by the history of World Cup the Kiwis can hardly make it to the ultimate level. Even in the last World Cup, they finished as runner-up. This time the team looks good and balanced for the World Cup 2019 campaign. Let’s take a look at the Strengths and Weaknesses of Team New Zealand for the ICC World Cup 2019.

New Zealand Squad:

Kane Williamson (C), Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Tom Blundell (wk), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Colin de Grandhomme, Tom Latham, Ish Sodhi

Strength of Team New Zealand

Ross Taylor, the most experienced player will be a key for the campaign for the Kiwis. Taylor, along with the skipper, Williamson is the backbone of their batting line up. Brendon McCullum’s retirement didn’t affect the side much which is a positive angle. The core of the 2015 squad is still the same and that’s a plus point. Players like Martin Guptill. Tim Southee, Trent Boult apart from Taylor and Williamson are in good touch and can carry the team. The captaincy of Kane Williamson is another strong point for the Kiwis because he always leads from the front. The pace attack of this team is really impressive and has been delivering well consistently.

Weakness of Team New Zealand

New Zealand recruited Tom Blundell in place of Tim Seifert post his injury, who is yet make ODI debut. Blundell can work wonder for the team but his inexperience can cost New Zealand a lot as well. The team doesn’t have a good back up wicket keeper as they suffered once Tom Latham was unavailable in the warm-ups. Too much dependency on Williamson and Taylor at times makes the team fragile. Ross Taylor contributed 37.33% of the middle order runs since the last World Cup whereas the rest of the 17 batsmen contributed 62.67% runs together. New Zealand pacers maintain their standard but the spin department is problematic.

Written By Shreyasi Dravid

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