Another World Cup campaign ended for the Blackcaps. Once again, Kane Williamson’s men had a tournament full of highs and lows.
They finished fourth in the group stages and ended up as runners up for the tournament. They won five games, lost three and had a no result in the group stages.
The Blackcaps also pulled off an amazing semi-final victory over the highly fancied Indian outfit. Unfortunately, New Zealand lost the final on a much-debated technicality – a boundary countback – to England.
New Zealand featured in five close games. The games against Bangladesh, South Africa, the West Indies, India and the final against England were all close.
New Zealand won four of those five games. The bowling was outstanding and was the best performing attack for the whole tournament.
New Zealand’s bowling attack conceded over 250 runs in only two matches for the tournament. Every team conceded over 250 runs three or more times.
The team’s overall economy rate was below five for the tournament. The Kiwi bowling also averaged below 30.
Batting wise, New Zealand was disappointing and besides Kane Williamson, only two batsmen averaged over 30.
Fielding wise, New Zealand were good. They dropped a few catches but overall, the Blackcaps fielding was good.
These players were the star performers for the Blackcaps and we list them below.
Kane Williamson
The player of the tournament. It sums up Kane’s performance throughout the tournament. He The player of the tournament.
It sums up Kane’s performance throughout the tournament. He was brilliant. He depicted amazing mental strength through the tournament saving New Zealand’s innings on over one occasion.
Every time he scored over 50, New Zealand didn’t lose a game. Operating like a surgeon, Williamson quietly went about his business.
Williamson was the only Kiwi batman to average above 40 for the tournament. The next best batting average was Ross Taylor with 38.88.
Williamson was in another league at times. His tournament stats read, nine innings, 578 runs, two 50s, two 100s, averaging 82.57.
All of this at a strike rate of 74.96. Williamson’s highest score was 148 against the West Indies at Old Trafford in Manchester.
He also took six catches and captained the side brilliantly. His calm demeanour, especially during the final, earned him worldwide praise from cricketing fans all over the world.
Williamson is already a New Zealand great, but it would not be surprising if he retires as one cricket’s greatest batsmen.
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson took the crushing World Cup final loss with immense grace. (Photo by Action Foto Sport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Jimmy Neesham
One or two years ago, Jimmy Neesham switched domestic teams. That switched resurrected the all-rounder’s career, and he had a brilliant World Cup campaign for the Blackcaps.
With the bat, he scored 258 runs, averaged 36.85 at a strike rate of 84.86. Neesham’s highest score of 97 not out came against Pakistan at Edgbaston.
He formed vital partnerships during the campaign and helped his side reach back-to-back World Cup finals.
With the ball, Neesham was outstanding, forming a vital element to the “wolf-pack.” He picked up 15 wickets, at an average of 19.46, economy rate of 5.35, at a strike rate of 21.80with best figures of 5/31 against the Afghanis at Taunton.
In the field, Neesham was good and picked up four catches including a one-handed blinder to remove Dinesh Karthik in the semi-final.
Chris Woakes, Jimmy Neesham and Ish Sodhi console Martin Gutpill. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Lockie Ferguson
The X-factor the Blackcaps needed and boy, did he deliver. The express pacer picked up 21 wickets (second highest overall for the tournament), at an average of 19.47, an economy rate of 4.88, at a strike rate of 23.90 with best figures of 4/37 against Afghanistan at Taunton.
Ferguson picked never went wicket-less in any of the matches he played and mainly picked up wickets in the middle overs, i.e., from overs 11-40.
Whenever Kane Williamson needed a breakthrough, he, on most occasions turned to Ferguson who very rarely failed to pick up the major wicket.
What made him a wicket-taker, besides his lethal pace and execution of Yorkers and bouncers, was his execution of the slower ball.
He used his slower ball to perfection. Two wickets that indicate his brilliant execution of the slower ball were the wickets of Shimron Hetmyer in that all-time classic group game against the West Indies and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in the tense semi-final against India.
Ferguson was outstanding throughout the tournament and will be a key part of the Blackcaps future endeavours.
Matt Henry
Barring one game against the West Indies, Matt Henry bowled brilliantly throughout the tournament. He was difficult to play, especially during the semi-finals against India and the final against England.
Matt was instrumental in building up pressure and providing or assisting the other bowlers in picking up the vital breakthroughs for the Blackcaps.
His stats read nine matches, 14 wickets, an average of 28 at a strike rate of 34.42, economy rate of 4.87, with best figures of 4/47 against Bangladesh at the Oval.
He picked up 15 wickets, at an average of 19.46, economy rate of 5.35, at a strike rate of 21.80. His best figures of 5/31 came against the Afghanis at Taunton. In the field, Neesham was good and picked up four catches including a one-handed blinder to remove Dinesh Karthik in the semi-final.
Chris Woakes consoles the vanquished Kiwis after their World Cup thriller. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Honourable mentions
Colin de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner played vital roles for the team. De Grandhomme scored a vital half-century against South Africa. He also bowled a super spell in the final picking up 1/28 off his 10 overs. He picked up the vital wicket of England star batsman, Joe Root.
Santner picked up two big wickets in the semi against India and kept the run rate in check, going at 4.82. Ross Taylor played vital knocks against Bangladesh, the West Indies, and India. He had the second highest average for the Blackcaps with an average of 38.88.
Taylor played a vital role in guiding Kane Williamson in making his captaincy decisions.
Disappointments
The disappointing performances were from the three openers used in the tournament. Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, and Henry Nicholls all averaged under 30 and had campaigns they would rather forget.
Guptill did pull off the vital run-out of MS Dhoni in the semis. The New Zealand vice-captain, Tom Latham, had a disappointing tournament with the bat averaging under 20.
New Zealand will face Sri Lanka next month before they play the big three of world cricket in consecutive Test series. They play England at home, Australia away and India back at home for two, three and two Tests respectively
Neel
Roar Guru
I reckon they might go Ferguson for the Australia series. His express pace will be really beneficial for the Blackcaps on Australian pitches. New Zealand do have their task cut out against Australia. We don’t do well in Australia in Tests. We haven’t won a series in Australia since 1985/86, when Richard Hadlee has a blinder of a series. New Zealand have a good leader in Williamson, but the rest need to lift. We are ranked no.2 but Australia in Australia (well pretty much anywhere) is always a tough ask. New Zealand will really need to be at their best to win that 3-match Test series later this year
Neel
Roar Guru
Ricc, it was disappointing to see that the batting didn’t fire consistently besides Williamson. I would love to see Conway and Young get a crack anytime soon. Young might get a spot in the team next year, as I still think he is recovering from that shoulder injury he suffered in the Australia warm ups. What do you reckon of George Worker? Should he get a good run in the ODI team or no? Who would open with Guptill because I don’t see Munro in the ODI lineup. Worker, Young, Siefert maybe?
Neel
Roar Guru
I am really proud of the way the whole team conducted themselves. Unfortunate what happened in the final but I cannot fault their effort.
Neel
Roar Guru
True about Williamson, Paul. I do not reckon any other player in world cricket would have been that composed. I don’t understand how he smiled through all that. The guy is an amazing player and a wonderful role model for young cricketers to look up to.
Paul
Roar Guru
I hope we can see some of these guys display their talents in the Australian summer, Ricardo. That trans-Tasman series could be one for the ages if both teams play to the best of their abilities.
Riccardo
Roar Rookie
Great post Paul. Radiosport over here had some English commentators and that was there takeaway. That the manner in which the Black Caps competed hard and then handled themselves in the face of heartbreak via such an unbelievable outcome is something that has gained them plaudits throughout the cricketing community. But, there is a harsh reality in Neel's article. This team is the sum of their parts and have proven , even not on their day, their genuine ability to compete with anyone. However, the consistent failure of the top-order is unacceptable, as is the tendency to take the foot off the throat once they have the measure of opponents. We have a couple of batsmen waiting in the wings. Young and Blundell have already faced and scored against Australia at home this season. Guptill, Latham and Nicholls will come right at some point; they are all talented. Devon Conway is awaiting his opportunity and looks to be a decent prospect too. As are Allen and Ravindra. The real advantage of recent success for New Zealand has been to add some depth. My point is that some of those deficiencies will disappear over time as a new order is established and healthy competition fires below them. Add in the ethos and environs we already see and New Zealand Cricket is in a pretty healthy place moving forward...
Paul
Roar Guru
I think if there was an award for Outstanding Sportsman of the World Cup, that too would go to Williamson, Neel. The way he conducted himself and how he represented his team must have made anyone proud to have been born a Kiwi. It will be interesting to see how people write the history of this tournament from a New Zealand perspective. The team copped the worst of the weather, yet these were also conditions which best suited a strong bowling/(relatively) poor batting team. The key elements that must be noted is the attitude and approach the Black Caps gave to each game, the desire to contribute in any way possible to a victory but above all, that New Zealand did NOT lose this Cup - and they made a ton of friends by the manner they accepted coming second.