Williamson-powered New Zealand have pretty much everything settled, except experience in pace attack ahead of CT2025

New Delhi [India], February 17 (ANI): Inexperience in pace attack as the 'Golden Generation' fades away, the sublime form of batter Kane Williamson, new leadership of all-rounder Mitchell Santner and the presence of some 'X Factor' young talent are key talking points for New Zealand as they head into the ICC Champions Trophy with an aim to end their trophy drought.
New Zealand will kickstart their campaign against Pakistan in Karachi on February 19. It will be followed by matches against Bangladesh (February 24 at Rawalpindi) and against India (March 2 at Dubai). This time around, Kiwis are heading into the tournament with a healthy mix of youth and experience, under the leadership of new white-ball skipper, Mitchell Santner.
*Bilateral series form
Heading into the tournament, Kiwis have participated in four bilateral/tri-nation events, winning three of them. A 2-0 loss to Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka is the only blot on their resume. Otherwise, Kiwis have played some impressive cricket to place themselves in good stead ahead of the tournament.
In a total of 11 ODIs since the end of the 2023 World Cup, NZ has won seven and lost four.
*Positives:
-Plenty of winning momentum: Kiwis have plenty of winning momentum heading into the tournament, having won seven of their 11 ODIs and having lost only four. They also secured a competitive tri-nation series in host nation Pakistan just days back, which will keep them motivated and confident about their brand of cricket.
-Experience in Pakistan conditions: Just days before the tournament, New Zealand have gained plenty of experience of playing in Pakistan, having played three ODIs in the tri-series and winning them all. This has given them a head start over other teams in their group, Pakistan (tri-series finalists), India and Bangladesh.
-Exceptional form of Kane Williamson: The ex-New Zealand captain is in form of his life as far as ODIs are concerned. Since the 2019 World Cup, Williamson has missed plenty of ODIs but has made his presence count. In 19 ODIs after the 2019 WC, Williamson has scored 903 runs in 18 matches at an average of 64.50, with a strike rate of 80.26, a century and seven fifties in 18 innings. His best score is 133*.
-Presence of plenty 'X factor' stars: Kiwis are extremely lucky to have plenty of young talent which can change the game within no time. Be it the left-handed batting prodigy Rachin Ravindra, who has enjoyed a fine run in ODIs following the 2023 World Cup, the 'complete package' Glenn Phillips who can bat, bowl useful spin, keep wickets and turn around matches with his Superman-like catches and run-outs or the young 23-year-old pacer Will O'Rourke, Kiwis have youngsters who can become household names in years to come and drastically affect outcomes in the Champions Trophy.
*Negatives:
-Inexperience in pace attack: For Kiwis, this will be the first ICC tournament in a long while without their veteran pacers Trent Boult and Tim Southee. While the former has chosen the T20 league money and family time after years of excellent service, Southee has retired from international cricket. In their absence, the pace attack will be spearheaded by Matt Henry (155 wickets in 87 ODIs), but he will miss having experienced campaigners on his side as O'Rourke (14 wickets in nine ODIs), Jacob Duffy (19 wickets in 11 ODIs), Nathan Smith (six wickets in six ODIs) have very little experience.
Fitness issues and injuries: Pacer Lockie Ferguson is battling a hamstring injury which has put his status under uncertainty. Also, pacer Ben Sears is out of the competition due to a hamstring tear. Their absence has weakened the Kiwi pace attack. Lockie's experience and ability to deliver express pace will be missed he is ruled out. Final information on him is not out yet.
*Top performers since the 2023 World Cup end till now:
Top run-getters: Will Young: (484 runs in 12 matches at an average of 48.40, with a century and three half-centuries), Mark Chapman: (272 runs in seven matches at an average of 45.33, with three half-centuries), Kane Williamson (225 runs in three matches at an average of 112.50, with a century and fifty), Tom Latham (204 runs in eight matches at an average of 29.14, with two fifties) and Rachin Ravindra (203 runs in seven matches at an average of 29.00, with a fifty).
Top wicket-takers: Matt Henry (14 wickets in five matches at an average of 14.64), Will O'Rourke (14 wickets in nine matches at an average of 29.57), Jacob Duffy (12 wickets in eight matches at an average of 25.91), Michael Bracewell (11 wickets in seven matches at an average of 25.09) and Mitchell Santner (10 wickets in nine matches at an average of 30.50).
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Jacob Duffy. (ANI)