Hello Friends,
Cricketing world went crazy this month after Indian men's team won their 3rd ICC Champions trophy title( Highest by any team). It was the 2nd ICC title that the Men in Blue won in a row followed by their triumph in last year's T20I World cup. The victory not only reemphasized India's dominance in white ball cricket but also brought a sense of calmness post their disastrous campaign down under. For next two months Indian cricket is again going to grab all the headlines when they will organize yet another breathtaking season of T20 cricket in the form of IPL. In between WPL (Women's Premier League) saw yet another action packed season which witnessed Mumbai Indians winning their 2nd title. Though Men in Blue grabbed all the headlines for their extraordinary Champions Trophy 2025 campaign there is another team which has been extremely consistent in ICC tournaments but yet to get much desired success. This edition of Sports Talk Of The Month is going to talk about their not so fortunate outcomes in big tournaments so far.
Blackcaps..... A Force To Reckon With Or Not
New Zealand men's team has been a dominant force in ICC tournaments over the years. Despite never being considered as the pre tournament favourites or having real star power like some of their opponents they have always been able to pack a punch. At the same time they are the team that has fallen short of the ultimate glory more often than not. Barring 2019 ODI World Cup final where they were really unfortunate to end up on the loosing side, they haven't been the same force in the knockout stages of the other big tournaments in the recent past. Let's take a quick look at their performances in ICC tournaments since the ODI World Cup 2019.
T20I World Cup 2021: Runners up
WTC Final 2021: Champions
T20I World Cup 2022: Semifinalists
WTC Final 2023: Not qualified
ODI World Cup 2023: Semifinalists
T20I World Cup 2024: Group stage
Champions Trophy 2025: Runners up
WTC Final 2025: Not qualified (Scheduled for June 2025)
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| New Zealand men's team back in 2015 Image credit: Ben Sutherland from Crystal Palace, London, UK, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
It's clearly visible from the above mentioned results that they struggle to finish a big tournament on a high most often than not. It goes back all the way to their journey in 1992 World Cup when an excellent campaign ended up in the semis. It can be a psychological aspect which affects the team before the big matches. Or may be they can take a leaf out of the books of their neighbors Australia on how to ace big tournaments. It's a fact that they take their game to another level when it comes to ICC tournaments but at the same time it's a matter of concern too that they rarely cross the final hurdle. No doubt about their players' capabilities nor the leadership group but still there is a missing link that needs to be plugged in to make them win more often.
Right now they have two new captains in Tom Latham (Test team) & Mitchell Santner (ODI & T20I team). They are the ones who have been assigned to take the baton forward post Williamson & Southee era. Latham & Santner are part of the set up for a while now and have proved their mettle as individuals time and again. But now it's the test of their characters as leaders. In fact it was Santner's first ICC tournament as captain & he did exceptionally well to take the team to the final. Using the right team combination in foreign conditions, adapting well as a team & extracting the best out of each individual were some of the takeaways from his first major assignment as a captain.
If we look at New Zealand as a team they have a core group for a while now who are all proven performers. But somehow during the most crunch moments they haven't been at their best. Once again they were average against a well oiled Indian team in that final. One might say that Indian team was at their dominating best throughout the tournament. But the fact that the Kiwis once again failed to play their top game when it mattered the most can't be overlooked.
If we talk about their domestic cricket structure it's quite organized where a player has to really grind at the grassroot level before getting promoted to the next level. That's why most of their players start their international career with a bang. Someone like Rachin Ravindra who is already being considered as an exceptional talent at such a young age adds depth to their bench strength. Era of Stephen Fleming saw them emerging as a team who can challenge the best in the business. Under Brendon McCullum & Kane Williamson they really turned out to be one of the top contenders in big tournaments. Hopefully the next generation with the likes of Ravindra, Phillips, O'Rourke, Allen can bring them the much deserved titles.
They are certainly not the South African team with a history of underperformance in knockout games of ICC tournaments. Despite cricket not being the most preferred sport in their country they still have exhibited fair amount of growth in their cricketing journey. They are always termed as the team of good boys but time has come when this bunch of good guys has to really turn the corner to write a new chapter in their cricketing history.
Stay tuned for our next installment at this space which will feature some of the exciting actions from IPL 2025.
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