Champions Trophy 2017: Predicted XI of New Zealand

New Zealand have had sound preparation going into the eighth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. They featured in a tri-series played in Ireland, which they eventually won. The Kiwis are acclimatized to the conditions now after spending almost a month in the UK.

They will be disappointed to lose in the warm-up clash against India on Sunday. Batting first, the Kiwis were bundled out for 189 in the 39th over. Their side has enough quality to bounce back from such a bad game. Kane Williamson has a pool of talented players who are good enough to lift a second title.

New Zealand ODI team has always comprised with a few all-rounders which give their side the right balance. The presence of quality fast bowlers – Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Adam Milne – means that in favorable conditions, they could run through a side. The advent of Mitchell Santner has given them a quality spinner who gives the ball a good amount of tweak. Experienced spinner Jeetan Patel will be handy whenever New Zealand decides to play two spinners.

The Williamson-led team is placed in Group A alongside arch-rivals Australia, hosts England and Bangladesh. They will have to play out of their skins to reach the final four of the competition.

Let us have a look at the Predicted XI of New Zealand for the tournament:

Openers (Martin Guptill and Tom Latham)

Martin Guptill is one of the most consistent batsmen in the New Zealand team ever since he made an outstanding 237* in the 2015 World Cup. Guptill has got just three hits this year so far and already has an unbeaten 180 against his name which he scored against South Africa in March in Hamilton.  After that, Guptill had a couple of decent knocks in the IPL but struggled for consistency. The 30-year old will be ready to pull his A game out at the big stage after having a stellar ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015.

Latham led the side in the absence of Williamson in Ireland. He did a great job both with his bat and leadership as he won the tri-series in Ireland and scored runs consistently. He was awarded the Man of the Series for scoring 257 runs in 4 innings which included a century and 2 half-centuries. Latham and Guptill can establish a great left hand-right hand opening combination as both complicate each other with their contrasting style of play.

Middle Order (Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Neil Broom and Luke Ronchi)

Williamson at No. 3 will hold the key for New Zealand. He is the best batsman of the side in English conditions and can control the entire innings whilst the rest bat around him. The 26-year old has been in great touch in the last 2 years, which has soared his average in ODI cricket past 45. The elegant right-hander is in good touch with the bat as he got runs in the IPL that too uncharacteristically scoring at a very good clip.

Taylor, along with his skipper, has been the mainstay of the Kiwi middle-order for the last half a decade. Taylor helped himself into some kind of form as he registered three half-centuries in the recently concluded tri-series in Ireland. The 33-year old has been in stellar form in this format since 2014. He will have to take responsibility to play the long innings alongside his skipper which will build a great platform for the big-hitters who follow to express themselves.

Neil Broom, along with Taylor, made sure that New Zealand does not miss their skipper’s batting in Ireland as he went on to amass 228 runs from 4 innings at an average of 57. Due to his good form, Broom has made a case for his inclusion in the playing XI. His experience of playing the game at the domestic level for one and a half decade will also help the team.

Ronchi was asked to open the innings with Latham in the tri-series. He got three scores of 27 and above and everyone thought that the idea of him at the top of the order will automatically be dropped. In a surprising move, Ronchi was again asked to open in the warm-up game against India and the 36-year old got a well composed 66 off 63 balls. It remains to be seen if New Zealand will have him at the top of the order instead of the trusted duo of Latham and Guptill. Ronchi, nevertheless, is a great striker of the ball and can be used down the order for best results.

All-rounders (Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell Santner)

Neesham faces stern competition from Corey Anderson. One out of these will feature in the tournament and at the moment, Neesham is slightly ahead in the pecking order for he is a little more consistent with the bat than Anderson. Both have similar abilities as bowlers. He struck an unbeaten 46 in the warm-up game which again reminded everyone of his batting prowess.

Young Santner has had an impressive start to his international career. His left-arm spin will hold the key for New Zealand in the spin department. He has also developed into a reasonable lower middle-order batsman. Santner recently picked career best figures of 5/50 against Ireland two weeks ago which means that he is in form.

Bowlers (Adam Milne, Time Southee and Trent Boult)

Williamson will love Milne’s express pace in these conditions. He is someone who can run in and bowl fast irrespective of the conditions and the pitch he is playing on. The right-arm fast bowler will be mostly used as a first change bowler once new ball bowlers Southee and Boult bowl their opening spells.

Southee along with Trent Boult will hold the key for New Zealand. Both will lead the attack and share the new ball. Both bowlers have 2 five-wicket hauls apiece and had one memorable performance in the 2015 World Cup each which won their side the game. On their day, both can run through top quality sides. If they operate in seam friendly conditions, the batsmen will have to play out of their skins to keep these two out of the game.

In 48 games so far, Boult has 87 wickets to his name at an economy rate of below 5 runs an over whereas Southee has 155 wickets from 116 games with a best of 7/33 in that memorable spell against England in Wellington.

New Zealand go up against arch-rivals Australia in their tournament opener on Friday at Edgbaston in Birmingham. They will take on hosts England followed by Bangladesh on June 6 and June 9 respectively at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.