Taking on the world
Why World Test Champs set Black Caps on path to break their Proteas duck
The Black Caps have already made plenty of history in 2021.
First they finished with four wins from four tests at home last summer, which turned out to be enough for them to make the World Test Championship final against India.
Then they climbed to No 1 on the world test rankings for the first time, after winning six tests in a row stretching back to February 2019.
And to top things off, they also climbed to No 1 on the world ODI rankings for the first time, after they beat Bangladesh 3-0 and the annual recalibration took place at the start of May.
Regardless of what happens at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton – where the weather had the upper hand on a washed-out first day – the current crop of players will have more history in their sights, starting last night (NZ time).
As captain Kane Williamson said ahead of the historic clash: ‘‘All sides are forever just trying to grow and improve’’.
The next item on the Black Caps’ hit-list will be the Twenty20 World Cup in October and November, which is set to be moved to the United Arab Emirates as a result of the Covid19 situation in host nation India.
Five different teams have won the event, which has been held six times since 2007 – England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies, who became the first repeat champions last time out in 2016.
Coming off a summer where they won 10 of their 13 completed T20s, found a pair of matchwinners in Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips, handed a debut to hot batting prospect Finn Allen, and welcomed speedster Adam Milne back from injury, the Black Caps are among the top contenders.
And even if they fall short, in an event where their best finishes have been semifinal exits in 2007 and 2016, they will get to go again in Australia next year, and every two years after that, under the new global events calendar unveiled earlier this month.
After the T20 cup, their focus will turn to returning to the World Test Championship final for the second time in as many cycles, with the first of their six relevant series – two tests away in India – scheduled for November, Covid-19 permitting.
The Black Caps have never won a series in India, which has consistently been one of the toughest places in the world to tour, with just three teams winning there this century – South Africa in 2000, Australia in 2004, and England in 2012.
Will they have a chance this time? They’re a better side with more options at their disposal than they were when they last visited in 2016 and were swept 3-0, which will give them hope. But it will still be a very hard ask, especially as they lack a battlehardened spinner, no matter how dependable Ajaz Patel has been when called on.
Their other series in the next cycle of the Test Championship are set to be against Bangladesh and South Africa at home next summer, away against England and Pakistan next winter, and at home against Sri Lanka the following summer.
Of those five, it’s the twomatch series against the Proteas in early 2022 that stands out, though wouldn’t it be nice if New Zealand Cricket and Cricket South Africa could find a way to stretch it to three?
South Africa are the only team New Zealand have never beaten in a test series, home or away, except for relative newcomers Afghanistan and Ireland, who they are yet to play, but the recent records of the two sides suggest the Black Caps should have an excellent chance to change that.
The Proteas were the last touring team to win a test in New Zealand, at the Basin Reserve back in March 2017, but since then they have won just two of their 12 tests on the road.
If the Black Caps want to play in the next world test final in the middle of 2023, beating South Africa at home for the first time is a must, with two big away series to follow.
This current group of New Zealand players have already reached uncharted territory, and while they will farewell long-time wicketkeeper BJ Watling, they won’t be daunted.
The next one-day World Cup, in India in late 2023, will be firmly in their sights as well.