This is not the first time that New Zealand are entering a tournament as one of the stronger sides. The usual phrases – 'punching above the weight', 'underdog' – are not applicable to them this time. They do well in bilateral T20Is, their players are stars in franchise cricket, and they are enter the T20 World Cup as Champions in one of the game's formats.
Four months ago (and two years after their second consecutive World Cup final appearance), New Zealand ingrained 2021 in their history books by becoming the first ever World Test Champions. From the longest, cut to the shortest format, where they have done well this year.
They won series against the West Indies, Pakistan, Australia and Bangladesh at home. Their only series defeat came in Bangladesh last month, but none of their T20 World Cup squad members played there.
New Zealand squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup
Kane Williamson (c), Tim Southee (vc), Glenn Phillips (wk), Tim Seifert (wk), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi
Travel reserves: Adam Milne
Head coach: Gary Stead
T20 World Cup Editions Participated: All editions since 2007
Best T20 World Cup results: Semi-finals in 2007 and 2016
ICC T20I Ranking: 4
SWOT analysis
Strengths: New Zealand have a solid batting attack. Guptill, Conway, Phillips, Mitchell and Neesham can change gears at will.
T20I Strike rates in 2021
- Guptill: 158
- Conway: 151
- Phillips: 178
- Neesham: 200
- Mitchell: 205
Williamson's versatility and experience in the UAE conditions add balance to the line-up.
New Zealand have a potent bowling attack. Fast, accurate and intelligent, Ferguson possesses deadly skills to champion any condition. He was one of the best bowlers in the recently concluded IPL.
Spinners Sodhi and Santer have the experience and skills to get enough purchase from the UAE tracks. Southee and Boult are omnipresent, but it is unlikely that both will start in the same line-up.
New Zealand are also one of the tactically soundest sides. Meticulous pre-match planning makes them dangerous. Like England, they too plan a lot for the match-ups and have no second thoughts in adopting horses for courses.
They benched Southee and Boult in their tournament opener against India in the 2016 edition, shocking the fraternity. It worked: they beat the hosts with spin on a turner.
Weakness: Though the batting looks explosive on paper, there are doubts on how the unit will fare on slow surfaces. Their successes have come on smaller New Zealand grounds, where they have managed to hit through the line. Their batters did not look comfortable in their two warm-up losses.
Therefore, on testing surfaces against good attacks, the batting is over-reliant on the expertise of Williamson.
T20 numbers in UAE
- Williamson: Ave 35, SR 121
- Guptill: Ave 14, SR 104
- Phillips: Ave 28, SR 107
- Neesham: Ave 10, SR 107
- Seifert: Ave 10, SR 121
New Zealand have probably missed out on a trick by not adding Colin Munro to the squad. The left-handed opener strikes at 142 in UAE, averaging 28.
Jamieson has not replicated his longer-format successes in T20s. Neither could he justify his price tag in the IPL nor looked close to menacing in the warm-up games.
New Zealand do not have a specialist off-spinner and will have to rely on Phillips' part-time bowling.
Opportunity: Until the final, New Zealand were the best team in the 2015 ODI World Cup. A year later, they looked set to cruise to another World Cup final before Jason Roy blew them away in the semi-finals. In the 2019 World Cup final, it was Roy again, this time with a throw. There was little to choose between the two finalists until that run out.
Two ties later, the distance between New Zealand and the World Cup was the boundary count.
Here is Williamson's chance to win a white-ball World Cup. They reversed the trend in the WTC final this year. Can they continue to make 2021 special?
Threats: Some of their selections have been rather bold. Milne was phenomenal in the Hundred but still failed to make the cut in the squad as the Kiwis preferred the experience of Southee.
Munro has scored over 1,000 runs in T20s this year, striking at over 130. His experience in UAE could have been critical. Also missing in the ranks is their most capped T20I player, Ross Taylor.
There's also no Finn Allen, who has 1,168 T20 runs this year at a strike rate of 173.
Despite having most areas covered, New Zealand lack completeness. On weary UAE surfaces, they find themselves in a group comprising India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, three Asian sides with potent spin attacks.
New Zealand's likely XI: Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Daryl Mitchell/Todd Astle, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
New Zealand's Fixtures:
- Tuesday, 26 October: New Zealand vs Pakistan, Sharjah
- Sunday, 31 October: New Zealand vs India, Dubai
- Wednesday, 3 November: New Zealand vs Scotland at Dubai
- Friday, 5 November: New Zealand vs Namibia at Sharjah
- Sunday, 7 November: New Zealand vs Afghanistan at Abu Dhabi