World Cup 2023: New Zealand preview – Eternal Dark Horses aim for gold

New Zealand will be once again coming into this World Cup as a dark horse. The biggest positive for them coming into the event is the return of their captain Kane Williamson. The Kiwi skipper had been out of action since his ACL injury suffered during the opening game of the IPL 2023 but he regained fitness in time for the mega event.

Past performance

New Zealand came agonizingly close to winning the World Cup in 2019 but lost the coveted trophy famously by the ‘barest of all margins’. The Kane Williamson-led side lost the final on boundary count after tying with England on both team score and Super over score. Having missed the chance to win their first World Cup by a whisker, the Kiwis will be eager to put on a marvellous show in the upcoming edition and end their wait for the inaugural title.

Prominent stat

The Kiwis are one of the most consistent teams in the history of the Cricket World Cup as they made it to semi-finals in six editions of the event and finished as runner-ups in the previous two editions consecutively. New Zealand are also the second most successful team in the history of the World Cup in terms of matches won in the tournament as they have 54 wins to their name in 89 matches.

New Zealand Squad for World Cup 2023

New Zealand Squad for World Cup 2023: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.

New Zealand’s schedule for World Cup 2023