The Black Caps – as much topsy-turvey as their form may be before the World Cup, they raise their game well enough to reach the knockouts, if not going all the way to the title.
Identical to their previous World Cup campaign, they again enjoyed a dream start this time around.
Although they began enduring hiccups after thrashing Sri Lanka in their inaugural encounter, the Kiwis could hold their nerves every time the opposition pushed them to the limits.
Undoubtedly, bowling is New Zealand’s fundamental strength. The pace attack spearheaded by Trent Boult with Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson as his deputies had all the tricks in the bag to wreak havoc on any opposition. However, in essence, every department has to come to the fore when a side is to claim the biggest prize in 50-over cricket.
Except for that, both the departments manifested inconsistency in the last few games. The opening combination of Martin Guptill and Colin Munro has looked listless ever since they single-handedly obliterated Sri Lanka. The continuous failures of the openers have meant the introduction of captain Kane Williamson early on along with Ross Taylor to rebuild the faltering ship.
With Ross Taylor not looking in ominous touch, over-reliance on Williamson flattened the Kiwis in their game against Australia.
While James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme put their hands up against Pakistan, giving the bowlers something to defend, it wasn’t enough to prevent a loss. Martin Guptill, who ended the 2015 World Cup as the leading run-scorer, has dragged himself to only 158 runs in seven games at 26.33. His woes were apparent as he struggled to rotate the strike and to negate the moving ball by Jason Behrendorff and Mitch Starc.
If their top-order batting was the only struggle they endured, the crushing losses against Pakistan and Australia unearthed their impenetrable bowling and fielding displays. As much the Kiwi bowlers kept applying the pressure on Babar Azam, he looked calm and composed, thoroughly determined to take the game away.
It could boil down to a selection error on an Edgbaston track where a second specialist spinner may have done the trick. However, none of the Kiwi bowlers could pass through the defences of Babar Azam and Haris Sohail.
Against Australia at the Lord’s, they were able to make early inroads. They reduced their Trans-Tasman counterpart to 92-5 before allowing Alex Carey and Usman Khawaja to amass a stand of 107. Khawaja, whose sluggish yet a decisive knock of 88 came on the back of two dropped chances.
Chasing 243, it was all deja vu for New Zealand – the openers failing, despite Henry Nichols swapped for Colin Munro this time. On a sporting pitch, none of the batsmen could get going against the pace of Mitchell Starc and the seam of Behrendorff and Pat Cummins.
On Wednesday, the finalist of the 2015 World Cup campaign is set to go against a rejuvenated English side. While the latter may have given themselves a new lease of life, the Englishmen will find themselves under the pump in a do or die clash.
For New Zealand, this is their chance to rediscover the consistency. For England, it is time to bury the ghosts of what unravelled in Wellington in the previous tournament and march themselves to a long-awaited moment of greatness.
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