New Zealand at the 2023 Cricket World Cup: Team Preview

New Zealand have an excellent World Cup record, and they will need to continue that at the 2023 edition despite the unavailability of two first-choice stars for the entirety of the tournament. Kane Williamson is returning from an ACL injury while Tim Southee is recovering from a broken hand. Their injuries will need to be managed through the World Cup, and New Zealand will have to rely on backups to take up more responsibility. A top-four finish should be their minimum goal, but it won’t be easy to reach there.

New Zealand ODI World Cup history

New Zealand qualified for the semi-finals six times in the first 10 editions, but never managed to go beyond that. In the last two, in 2015 and 2019, they finished runners-up. They had won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2000 and the World Test Championship in 2021, so they know they are capable of  New Zealand need to look nowhere else for inspiration.

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New Zealand at the 2023 Cricket World Cup: Full squad

Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.

Captain: Kane Williamson

Coach: Gary Stead

Wisden Cricket Monthly’s Most Valuable Player: Kane Williamson

It may sound obvious, but Williamson holds the key to their chances. After rupturing his ACL at last season’s IPL he’s been rehabbing like a madman to make the squad and may not be match-ready for the pipe opener. When he does return, and in what nick, will help determine how well they go. A veteran of Indian conditions and an IPL stalwart, he has the attributes, and the time afforded him across 50 overs, to bat his way through the pain of back-to-back final defeats. Player of the Tournament in England four years ago, at 33 this is probably his final tilt at the one that got away.

Player to watch: Devon Conway

For Conway the last few years have seen his hard work, sacrifice and life-sized gambles pay off. South-Africa born and raised, at 26 he left his native Gauteng and headed to Wellington, uprooting family life with his wife Kim, selling his house in the process. A scorching record in international white-ball cricket for New Zealand, a remarkable debut Test double ton at Lord’s and a lucrative IPL gig at the biggest franchise going aren’t bad returns. He’s proud of where he’s got to. But as befits the itinerant cricketer who’d done it the hard way, he dare not let up now.

Read the piece on Devon Conway here.

New Zealand at the 2023 Cricket World Cup: Predicted XI

Devon Conway, Will Young, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c, wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

New Zealand at the 2023 Cricket World Cup: Full fixtures list

Thursday, October 5: England v New Zealand (Ahmedabad), 2 pm
Monday, October 9: New Zealand v Netherlands (Hyderabad), 2 pm
Friday, October 13: New Zealand v Bangladesh (Chennai), 2 pm
Wednesday, October 18: New Zealand v Afghanistan (Chennai), 2 pm
Sunday, October 22: India v New Zealand (Dharamsala), 2 pm
Saturday, October 28: Australia v New Zealand (Dharamsala), 10:30 am
Wednesday, November 1: New Zealand v South Africa (Pune), 2 pm
Saturday, November 4: New Zealand v Pakistan (Bengaluru), 10:30 am
Thursday, November 9: New Zealand v Sri Lanka (Bengaluru), 2 pm

A full preview of the 2023 World Cup appears in issue 71 of Wisden Cricket Monthly.