3 min read
Introduction
NewZealand, as a team, always fly under the radar, coming into every world tournament. I don’t know if they actively do that or it just happens to them. Any way, those who can see it will surely say that NewZealand is a string team and they have managed to pick a team which will be able to cause some jitters to a lot of predictions.
Mihir’s SWOT Analysis
strengths
- Bowling – it has always been bowling for NewZealand and it is more than just a strength for a tournament taking place in England.
- A solid bench strength in the bowling department is all the more good given the longevity of the tournament this time around.
- A good crop of young batsmen led by Guptill, Taylor and Williamson are capable of adjusting to conditions.
weaknesses
- If anything, I’d say NewZealand are devoid of that game-changing finisher who exhibits consistency and incepts fear/uncertainty in the mind of the opposition. They rely on separate individuals for that very role.
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- Spin department looks a tad bit weaker than those of others.
opportunities
- Conditions are familiar to those back home. Pitches with a tinge of green, shorter boundaries and flat pitches. NewZealand have an excellent opportunity to utilise the familiarity to such conditions to their advantage and march ahead in the tournament.
- I said this for SRH (in my IPL SWOT Analysis) and I will say it for NewZealand as well – Kane Williamson is a brilliant captain who has a great opportunity to lead a perfectly strong team in this World Cup.
threats
- Kane’s form hasn’t been ideal coming into a tournament like this and if he is unable to get off the marks in the couple of practice games, there’ll be that added pressure on in him the league games.
- Also, much of the middle-order batting revolves around Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson. Should these two falter at the same time, it remains to be seen whether other batsmen can put their hands up.
key player
Ross Taylor –> Given the current form, it is safe to say that the batting of NewZealand is directly dependent on Ross Taylor’s batting performance. And in what is expected to be a high-scoring tournament, Taylor becomes all the more important to the team’s fortunes.
prediction
I won’t be surprised if NewZealand make it to the semi-finals, just as I won’t be surprised if they don’t make it to the semi-finals. It’s one of those teams for me. Having said that, since I am making an atomic prediction of all teams, I’d say that NewZealand don’t make the semi-finals. A close 5th or 6th finish probably.
Roster
Schedule
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