The rise of New Zealand and a curse that’s no more

Mitchell Starc is renowned for hitting the full-length and tailing the ball back into the batsmen. The first time, Brendon McCullum went for an expansive drive and couldn’t connect. Starc and Brad Haddin had their hands on head. Then, McCullum charged down only to get beaten on the inside edge.

In the third delivery, the batter’s stumps went for a toss as he was befuddled by an in-swinger. 2015 had witnessed the first instance when New Zealand played a World Cup final. But losing their skipper meant that they were pushed into a rabbit hole from which they couldn’t recover.

2019 wasn’t kind on the Black Caps either. The boundary count rule was scrapped after the never-before-seen final at the Lord’s and the Kiwis won the Christopher Martin Jenkins Spirit of the Cricket award. But could it compensate for the fact that Kane Williamson’s men didn’t win the trophy? No.

The deflection going for four and leading to six important runs might not be intentional on Ben Stokes’ part, but it was New Zealand, who paid a hefty price for it. As if the loss wasn’t enough, they ended on the wrong side of three T20I Super Overs later- two against India and one against England.

The wheels of fortunes turn for New Zealand  

It was back in 2000 when Chris Cairns’ unbeaten 102 trumped Sourav Ganguly’s 117 as the Kiwis won the ICC Knockout Trophy in Nairobi. Ever since then, they played a plethora of quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals only to be shown the door of elimination. However, June 23, 2021, was different. Nearly 21 years after Cairns’ heroics, the Black Caps got their hands on an ICC trophy.

New Zealand became the World Champions of Test cricket!

India aren’t mere pushovers and with two days of play being washed off due to rain, a draw seemed on the cards. Even as the ICC received a lot of flak for hosting the World Test Championship final in the UK, the fact that the apex board kept a reserve day gave a lifeline to the rain-marred game. It also gave both teams a chance to go for a result despite the gloomy atmosphere in Southampton.

98 overs aren’t supposed to be enough for a result when nearly two innings are left in a Test match. But it only took New Zealand 88.5 overs to romp to the epic win. After Kyle Jamieson got rid of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara inside the first 10 overs of the final day’s play, the Black Caps smelled blood. A number of Indian batters got their eyes in, entering into double digits, only to get out.

Jamieson and Tim Southee scoring runs lower down the order in the first innings also helped the Kiwis in getting 51 vital runs, which eventually, turned out to be a crucial factor in the context of the game. Williamson and Co might have got jitters when Ravi Ashwin pinned both the opening batters- Tom Latham and Devon Conway- in quick succession, but it was all momentary.

A farewell to remember for BJ Watling

The win was special on all counts, one of which was BJ Watling’s retirement. The wicketkeeper-batsman had announced his retirement prior to the two-match Test series against England. But in the last month of his career, the veteran had a few roadblocks to deal with. He played the Lord’s Test after which a sore back ruled him out of the second Test at the Edgbaston in Birmingham.

Even in the WTC final, the 35-year-old Watling dislocated his right ring finger, but he stayed to keep wickets one last time for the national team. Not often does a New Zealander get a chance to bow out after becoming a world champion. Watling got the opportunity and he didn’t let it go.

“No, I didn’t imagine I’d end as a World Test Champion. My family back home, my mum has stood up for me in tough times, my wife Jess and the two boys – a thank you to all of them. It’s been a hell of a journey. Huge support over the years from my mates,” Watling said after the historic game.

Watling was hardly spoken in the same breath as that of Quinton de Kock, Rishabh Pant, Jos Buttler, and a number of other keepers. But his services to the Kiwis over the last decade, where he scored 3,790 Test runs with eight centuries and 19 fifties with a top score of 205, warrant recognition.

A fitting end to the fairy-tale

Apart from Watling, it was Ross Taylor, who played under the shadows of some of the other big names in world cricket. Having seen loads of ups and downs in New Zealand cricket, the 37-year-old hasn’t gone off the radar in any of the three formats. Into his late 30s, it’s only a matter of time before he calls it a day for the Black Caps, though he hasn’t given any indication of the same as of now.

It was only fitting that he got the winning runs for his team in the final. Mohammed Shami strayed down the leg side and Ross whipped the ball away to the boundary off his pads. Williamson, who had taken New Zealand to the top of the ICC rankings and himself was the no.1 Test batter, was there in the middle to witness Taylor’s winning shot. The moment was surreal in its own special way.

Prior to the game, the pundits were spoiled for choices due to the firepower of both teams. Having found themselves on the back foot quite a few times, the Kiwis kept coming back and eventually, drilled the final nail in India’s coffin through the 96-run stand between Kane and Ross.

The T20 World Cup is upcoming later this year. On turning the pages of history, the Kiwis have played two semi-finals and lost both of them. After conquering red-ball cricket, can New Zealand stamp their authority in the T20 format? It’s a discussion for another day.

For the time being, New Zealand bask in glory as champions of the Test world. Let it sink in!