Preview - New Zealand

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand always comes up with average performances in World Cup except the 1992 edition in which they were brilliantly led by Martin Crowe. Otherwise they have been under achievers. They are yet to win a major tournament. But the 3-0 domination over Aus in the recently concluded series would have raised their confidence sky high.

Lack of star players has undone them. But sometimes that’s a blessing in disguise since their team effort compensates for that.

They have a great captain in Stephen Fleming. However he has been just a decent batsman with an average of just 33. How Fleming can marshall his resources will very well dictate NZ’s performance in this World Cup.

Ross Taylor is a young and energetic player. I am guessing he can make it big down the years. Vincent has been in superb form and that should help NZ get solid starts. McMillan’s recent form has been good but one would hope for consistency from him to show the world that his recent form is not a thing of past.

Oram has been in terrific batting form of late. But his bowling of late has not been upto the mark. Fleming and NZ would be hoping that Oram’s batting form rubs into his bowling as well. That could very well dictate the fortunes of the team. They have good late order hitters like McCullum and Vettori.

Bond is an awesome fast bowler and he is the only one who can rip out any batting lineup from this team. Fleming should look to use him at important stages and very carefully too since Bond’s back is highly susceptible to last a full World Cup. Vettori would also need to play a key role in bowling during the middle overs.

What still baffles me is why Tuffey is picked. His bowling is so poor that even the minnows will be looking to get some runs off him.

It might be Fleming’s last World Cup and if he is going to continue leading the side after WC then he better put up a good performance and lead his team to semis or else its over to Daniel Vettori.

Strengths:
· Shrewd Captain in Fleming
· Lot of all-rounders
· Team Strength / Effort
· Bond’s aggressive fast bowling.

Weaknesses:
· Absence of stars.
· Fleming’s poor batting form.
· Mediocre set of bowlers (except Bond).
· Bond’s susceptible back.

Key Players:
· Lou Vincent, Jacob Oram, Shane Bond

Dark Horse:
· Ross Taylor, McCullum

My Take:
· Super 8 Stage

My Team:
Stephen Fleming (c), Lou Vincent, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Peter Fulton (or Craig McMillan), Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum (wk), James Franklin, Daniel Vettori, Mark Gillespie (or Michael Mason), Shane Bond.