New Zealand’s Performance in T20 World Cup

New Zealand Team Schedule for T20 World Cup 2022

New Zealand T20 Squad S.W.O.T Analysis

Strengths – New Zealand’s strength lies in the experience of its most reliable names. Martin Guptill along with Kane Williamson in the batting line-up and Trent Boult and Tim Southee with the ball have been the backbone of New Zealand’s success and they would be key to the team’s chances even in this year’s T20 World Cup.

Weaknesses – Kane Williamson has been terrific for the Kiwis in T20Is but his form in the 2022 Indian Premier League doesn’t inspire confidence. What also doesn’t inspire confidence is how he refused to go down the batting order despite his continued failure with the bat. New Zealand would hope that Williamson finds his mojo back with the bat.

Opportunities – Martin Guptill is 35 and despite having played in both the 50 over World Cup and the T20 World Cup finals, it’s unlikely he would have good memories of those two days. His run-out on the final ball of the super over gave England the World Cup in 2019 while his painstaking knock of 28 from the 2021 World Cup final hurt New Zealand in their quest to win the T20 World Cup. For a player of Guptill’s stature and ability, a T20 World Cup win would be a nice way to stave off those memories.

Threats – A group that has both England and Australia would mean that the contest would be extremely tight to finish in the top two for New Zealand. As the last World Cup showed where South Africa couldn’t proceed despite having four wins out of their five fixtures because of being in the same group as Australia and England, New Zealand should be wary of a similar situation.

New Zealand Team’s Performance in T20 World Cup

Over the years, New Zealand’s ability to punch above their weight is what has made the team extremely special, whatever format it may be. However, another constant with New Zealand across their white-ball cricketing history was their tendency to get knocked out in semi-finals of major tournaments. The team changed colors under Brendon McCullum and showed its might by sprinting to the 2015 World Cup Final. Under his successor, Kane Williamson, the team has gone from strength to strength and has become a dominant force in all three formats, securing a place in the finals of three back to back ICC tournaments, including the T20 World Cup.

But just like in the final of the 50-over World Cup in 2019, New Zealand failed to cross the final hurdle and lost to their trans-Tasman rivals in UAE. With the next edition scheduled to take place in Australia, New Zealand would be gearing up to put on another good show but cross the line this time. It’s not always that New Zealand starts a tournament as favorites but based on how they have performed in the past few years, they would definitely be a team on which a lot of eyes would be once the tournament kicks-off. And that they would be doing so despite the lack of superstars speaks volumes of how influential Kane Williamson has been as a leader and as a batsman in the New Zealand unit.

New Zealand are placed in Group 1. They will have some familiar faces waiting for them as England, the team they beat in the last T20 World Cup’s semi-final, and Australia, the team that beat them in the final of the same tournament are also in Group 1 along with Afghanistan. New Zealand hasn’t played any of these three sides since the last World Cup.