The ODI History of New Zealand
It’s incredible that New Zealand have never won a Cricket World Cup considering the number of times that they have featured at the business end of the tournament. The Kiwis have been a prominent performer in so many editions of this competition but are still yet to taste success.
At the 2019 World Cup, there were times when it looked as though New Zealand would finally get their name on the trophy. After all, they were one of the more impressive performers in England, with the men from Down Under advancing to the final four after winning five of their nine matches.
Then came a clash against India where NZ were able to clock up 239/8 and it was a total that their opponents were not able to pass. Despite a valiant Indian attempt, they could only manage 221 runs and New Zealand were able to clash with England in the final.
This match was the most exciting in the history of the Cricket World Cup, with the game swinging one way to another and it crazily led to the scores being level after both teams had had fifty overs. The Kiwis won the toss and elected to bat, with a 55 from Henry Nicholls helping them to rack up 241 runs for eight wickets.
England responded with a solid knock of their own, with Ben Stokes proving to be the man for the occasion when scoring 84 runs in 98 balls. It was another 241 runs scored by the English and we then saw the final go to a Super Over where the hosts triumphed.
Previously to this tournament, NZ had also reached the 2015 Cricket World Cup final at a tournament which they co-hosted with Australia. It came as no surprise to find the two Australasian sides being the final two teams standing.
New Zealand had produced some impressive displays before that date, most notably when beating the West Indies by 143 runs in the quarter final. There was then an entertaining clash against South Africa which was decided by the Duckworth-Lewis method and the co-hosts secured a four wicket win.
Who Holds the ODI Records for New Zealand?
Ross Taylor is the man who has scored the most runs at One Day International level for New Zealand. The batsman racked up 8,581 runs over 233 matches between 2006-2021. That puts him well clear of the chasing pack, with Stephen Fleming having also notched 8,007 runs during his 279 matches for his country.
Nathan Astle was part of the same team as Fleming and he made a solid contribution between 1995-2007, with 7,090 runs being scored during a long and illustrious career where he experienced many successes.
Bowling-wise, Daniel Vettori is the man who has the record for the most wickets. The bespectacled bowler was able to manage 297 wickets during a career that spanned 1997-2015, with this meaning he averaged more than a wicket per ODI match despite being a spin bowler.
