New Zealand National Cricket Team

The New Zealand cricket team has the distinction of being one of the two established test playing nations never to have won the Cricket World Cup. Despite never having lifted the trophy, the Black Caps have been one of the most consistent performers in the tournament, reaching the knockout stages of the Cricket World Cup on seven occasions.

Nickname: Black Caps
Captain: Daniel Vettori
Coach: Andy Moles
Best Cricket World Cup Performance: 3rd place (2007)

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World Cup - World Cup Winner -
India	10/3	10/3	10/3	10/3	3	7/2	10/3	10/3	10/3	3
England	5	5	5	11/2	5	5	5	5	5	9/2
Australia	9/2	9/2	11/2	5	11/2	9/2	9/2	11/2	5	11/2
South Africa	11/2	11/2	5	5	11/2	11/2	11/2	5	11/2	5
Sri Lanka	5	5	9/2	9/2	9/2	5	5	9/2	5	5
Pakistan	15/2	9	15/2	11	8	8	9	8	9	9
New Zealand	12	18	20	17	16	14	18	18	14	14
West Indies	17	16	16	19	20	16	16	22	16	20
Bangladesh	33	40	33	43	40	50	40	40	50	50
Zimbabwe	175	150	250	259	200	150	150	150	200	300
Ireland	499	500	500	379	500	500	500	500	500	750
Kenya	999	-	-	639	1000	-	-	1000	1000	750
Canada	-	-	-	639	1000	-	-	2000	1000	1000
Netherlands	999	-	-	639	1000	-	-	2000	1000	1000

2011 Cricket World Cup

New Zealand - Cricket World Cup New Zealand has been threatening to break through to the final of the Cricket World Cup for two decades, and will fancy their chances of providing a serious challenge for the title at the 2011 Cricket World Cup. With some of cricket sports’ traditional powers in the process of rebuilding their sides, and New Zealand’s tendency to play intelligent cricket and to optimise player resources, may combine to give them the edge in Asia.

Cricket World Cup History

New Zealand reached the semifinals of the inaugural Cricket World Cup in 1975, at which it was outclassed by the West Indies, the eventual champions. The 1979 Cricket World Cup was one of the most competitive in the tournament’s history, and New Zealand did well to reach the semi-finals. The Black Caps met England in their semi-final, and came within 9 runs of a meeting with the West Indies in the final.

The 1980s was an era New Zealand cricket would rather forget. The New Zealand team failed to capitalise on its impressive performances in the first two Cricket World Cups, and exited both the 1983 and 1987 Cricket World Cups in the first round.

In 1992 the Cricket World Cup was hosted in Australasia for the first time. The Black Caps capitalised on the home advantage to produce one of their most impressive World Cup performances to date, losing just one game, and finished the group stage round robin tournament at the top of the table. Unfortunately, the New Zealanders were unable to contain Pakistan in the semifinals, losing the match by 4 wickets.

New Zealand followed up on the 1992 Cricket World Cup with a respectable performance at the 1996 tournament in Asia, where they reached the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Australia. The Black Caps were back in semi-final mode at the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England, where they qualified for the semifinals by finishing 4th in the Super Sixes stage. The semifinals once again proved to be New Zealand’s undoing, as Pakistan cruised to a 9-wicket victory.

After a relatively unsuccessful Cricket World Cup in 2003, where they had to settle for 5th place, the Black Caps travelled to the 2007 World Cup with a settled squad intent on victory. From the outset the New Zealanders appeared to be one of the form teams at the tournament, winning in their group and finishing 3rd in the Super Eights stage.

In the semi-finals New Zealand matched up against an equally impressive Sri Lankan side. It was not to be New Zealand’s day, as Sri Lanka posted an imposing target of 289, before Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan ripped through the New Zealand batting line-up, leaving the Black Caps 81 runs shy of the total.