New Zealand is banking on golden generation trio Kane Williamson, Tim Southee, and Trent Boult having one last hurrah as they look to finally win a limited-overs World Cup trophy after so many close calls, none more so than the final of the 50-over World Cup against England four years ago, when New Zealand lost on boundary countback after two Super Overs failed to separate the teams.
The Black Caps took the Lord’s defeat with amazing grace, despite losing to Australia in both the 2015 title decider and the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup final.
Master batsman Williamson and attack bowlers Southee and Boult were vital participants in all three campaigns, but their routes to India have been anything from straightforward as they enter their mid-30s.
This year, coach Gary Stead has spent as much time sweating over medical reports as he has on batting and bowling analysis, especially after Kane Williamson damaged knee ligaments in the Indian Premier League in April.
The New Zealand captain made an incredible recovery to make the World Cup squad, but he only batted again in a warm-up triumph over Pakistan on Friday.
Williamson will miss the tournament’s opening match, a rematch of the 2019 final against England in Ahmedabad next Thursday.
“It was great to see Kane out there today, even if it was only with the bat.” “He didn’t feel it at all,” he remarked following the game in Hyderabad.
“Pretty warming from a team perspective that we know he’s pretty close to getting back to full fitness.”
Southee’s injury was more recent, requiring five pins to correct, but Stead believes the paceman will be able to play through the agony in New Zealand’s second game, if not the first.
Boult, his strike partner, is fully fit and returns to the squad after stepping down from a central contract last year to pursue lucrative prospects in franchise Twenty20 cricket.
Of course, the other 12 members of the squad are all talented, but the loss of spin-bowling all-rounder Michael Bracewell to an Achilles rupture in June was a huge blow.
Stead put his faith on inexperienced Rachin Ravindra and Mark Chapman, as well as uncontracted Jimmy Neesham, to fill the vacuum left by Bracewell’s absence.
New Zealand’s coach is aware of the tournament’s length and has stated that team selections would be chosen on a match-by-match basis, with conditions ranging from traditional sluggish Indian wickets to faster surfaces that will suit pace.
In prior World Cups, the Black Caps have proven to be exceptionally good at tournament management, and Stead was unconcerned that they arrived in India ranked sixth in the world.
“We’ve shown in the last month or so that we can beat England, which is one of the best teams in the world,” he stated.
“You don’t have to beat them every day, you just have to beat them on certain days.”
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