World Cup 2019: Three problems New Zealand have to fix right now

New Zealand have reached the semi-finals of the World Cup 2019 despite a poor run of losses in the last stage. The gutsy Kiwis will face either India or Australia on Tuesday. However, their progression to the knockout stages was far from straightforward. New Zealand’s group phase told a story of two halves.

The first half was almost faultless. It included resounding victories over Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, a washout and two close wins over South Africa and the West-Indies. The team was first in the points table after the game against the Men in Maroon with five wins out of six.

The second half was disastrous. New Zealand lost their last three pool matches against Pakistan, Australia and England. Their batting was collapsed in the final two games and they are a bit lucky to have scraped through on net run rate.

Cracks have started to appear for the Men in Black at the worst-possible moment. This does not bode well for them on the eve of the semi-finals. Let us look at three problems that New Zealand has to fix ASAP.

#3 Mitchell Santner’s ineffective bowling

New Zealand have one of the most dangerous pace bowling attacks in the tournament. Their seamers have picked up 59 wickets during the group phase. This is in stark contrast to the team’s spinners, who picked up a pitiful four wickets during that period. They need to fix the spin problem before the semi-finals start.

Mitchell Santner’s bowling was ineffective during the first phase and the opposition teams milked him for runs. Santner took only four wickets, falling way below the team’s standards.

Ish Sodhi, the team’s reserve spinner, might be a better pick for the knockout stages. He played in only one match, however, and it will be a risk to field him in the knockouts.

Sodhi is more attack-minded that Santner and can work as a better strike bowler, so he could be gambled on.

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#2 Over-reliance on Kane Williamson

New Zealand’s batting is often slammed as a one-man show. The team is definitely over-reliant on Kane Williamson, who has scored more than 30 percent of the team’s runs at the World Cup.

New Zealand’s results prove this point emphatically. Williamson scored back-to-back centuries against South Africa and the West-Indies and New Zealand won both matches. He showed immense composure to guide his team home.

But Williamson failed in the next three matches (not getting past 50) and, predictably, the team also failed.

New Zealand suffered dramatic collapses every time their talisman was dismissed. Against Australia, they crashed from 97-3 to 157 all out. Against England it was more or less the same story: they tumbled from 61-3 to 186 all out.

This pattern must stop if New Zealand wants to win the World Cup. The batting unit must fire as a collective against India or Australia. Ross Taylor and Co. need to pull up their socks.

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#1 Opening partnership woes

New Zealand’s batting problems start at the top of the order. Their opening pair was the least successful during the group stage. Their exploits make for dismal reading: 299 runs in 16 innings.

Martin Guptill featured in all of New Zealand’s group matches but had two different partners. Colin Munro was Guptill’s first ally. He scored only 125 runs in the first seven matches and was dropped. Henry Nicholls replaced Munro but performed equally poorly (eight runs in two innings).

New Zealand should back Guptill to find form. He can be devastating in the knockout phase if he gets going. But they need more clarity on who his companion will be on Tuesday. Will the selectors persist with Nicholls or go back to the fumbling Munro? Or will they select Tom Blundell, the reserve batsman?

Either way, it is one vital area where they are greatly lagging behind the other semi-finalists.

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