The New Zealand cricket team has been fierce in the ICC tournaments. During their stints, the players deliver marvelous performances. In 2015, Brendon McCullum for the side helped NZ to lift the trophy.
The victory followed them in the final appearance in 2019 under the captaincy of Kane Williamson. In 2021, won the inaugural test championship defeating India in the final match. Here, you’ll know about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the team.
Strength
The New Zealand team has explosive top-order batters who have the potential to flip the match at any time. On the bowling side, Martin Guptill is one of the greatest strikers and his pair with Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway form a blasting squad for the opponents.
4Kane Williamson plays with his bat at number 3 which is really threatening for the opposing teams on the pitch.
Weaknesses
New Zealand may not have great finishers in the squad which may be one of the drowning weaknesses for the squad at the peak conditions on the pitch. In recent months, Michael Bracewell has stormed the cricket world. In the T20 World Cup 2022, he would encounter the greatest bowlers for the first time. He plays at a strike rate of 206 and has appeared only in 5 games in his career so far.
Undoubtedly, Jimmy Neesham has appeared in a lot of matches but he hasn’t been consistent for NZ. He hasn’t been playing in his best form and would lead up to T20 World Cup 2022.
If the top-order batters of NZ fail to play good enough in crucial points during the tournament, the lower middle-order players have all the potential to create conditions on the pitch.
Opportunities
In the last decade, New Zealand has been observed as the greatest player in the ICC matches. The captaincy of Williamson leads the team to feel encouraged for his men to give their best to dismiss the opponents with their techniques and skills.
The likes of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Adam Milne and Mitchell Santner will get the major advantage of Australian bowling. The pace of Ferguson and Milne creates a balance for the NZ squad when paired with the swings of Southee and Boult.
In the NZ squad, Sodhi is a spinner with the potential to run through the sides. On the contrary, Santner has wonderful intelligence with the ball to threaten opponents. It can be of great advantage to the New Zealand squad.
Threat
The injuries of the players may derail the kiwis in the forthcoming World Cup tournament. This has created a problem for plenty of players in the squad. From the history, the injuries of the players can be tracked as it has thrown them in typical conditions. players like Milne and Ferguson never had any year without being injured during any gameplay.
Even the captain Williamson is also more likely to get injured frequently and it can be difficult for the team ahead of the World Cup.
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