When we talk about the top teams and players in the world, what are the names which generally come up? India, Virat Kohli, Ben Stokes, England, Yasir Shah, South Africa, Kagiso Rabada…
Not only do performances matter, but the opposition and stage is also critical. Which is why no matter what teams teams like India, England and Australia do they generally make the headlines simply because of the size of their dedicated following in the cricketing world and media.
Yet at the literal corner of the globe, New Zealand continue to put in remarkable performances in all formats of the game under the heart-warming leadership of Kane Williamson to emerge as arguably the most consistent team in the world in all conditions.
The 2015 World Cup finalists and the 2016 World T20 semi-finalists have been consistent without being too flashy, capping a great run with a 2-1 Test series win against Pakistan in the UAE this month. The Kiwis are ranked third in ODIs and if results go their way in the ongoing two-match series against Sri Lanka, they will rise to second in Test rankings.
And that will be just reward for the hugely impressive Kiwis.
WIN-LOSS RATIO
In the last five years, New Zealand have an excellent win/loss record. In Tests, the Kiwis have won 21 out of 42 Tests with 13 defeats. According to stats from ESPNcrincinfo, that gives them a win/loss ratio of 1.61, which is second behind India who have won 28 out of 57 Tests and lost 15 (w/l of 1.86).
In ODI cricket, the Kiwis’ win/loss record is the third best in the last five years – 59 wins and 35 defeats for a w/l of 1.68, bettered by South Africa (1.76) and India (2). And even when the Kiwis lose, they rarely embarrass themselves, which is as important as winning.
TOP RUN GETTERS
Kane Williamson.
Kohli and Steve Smith have been the best all-format batsmen in the world for some time. With Smith still serving his one-year ban for his role in the ball tampering scandal in South Africa earlier in the year, Kohli is lapping up all the attention with his run scoring. However, New Zealand skipper Williamson is not too far behind.
In the last five years, Williamson has scored 9,270 runs in 165 matches across all three formats. Only Kohli (11,914) and England’s Joe Root (10,608) have scored more runs in all formats in the same period with those two the only batters with more than 200 innings under their belt.
Williamson’s series-winning century in the second innings of the third Test in Abu Dhabi against Pakistan on a raging turner is one of the finest knocks under pressure you will ever see. And he does all that without the roar of Kohli or quirks of Smith.
TOP WICKET TAKERS
Trent Boult.
The Kiwis have been blessed with their most varied bowling attack in a long time. Left-arm quicks Trent Boult and Neil Wagner and right-arm seamer Tim Southee have formed one of the most formidable pace attacks in the game.
If you look at stats across formats for the last five years, Boult is on the only bowler after India’s Ravi Ashwin to have taken more than 300 wickets – 311. And unlike Ashwin, Boult plays all three formats of the game.
All these numbers show New Zealand deserve a lot more credit and attention than they are receiving at the moment. And the most remarkable aspect of it all is they are doing without a single incident of sledging or nasty skirmishes with the opposition.
