McCullum, Williamson, Taylor, Boult Star In A Formidable 'Kiwis' ODI XI For Last Decade

The 'Black Caps' could share honours with the Australians, Indians and South Africans for having the most lethal ODI seam attack that wreaked havoc on opposition in seam friendly conditions back in their den.

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New Zealand who often played second fiddle to their more illustrious trans-tasman rivals Australia in limited overs cricket,  shed their long standing tag as noteworthy challengers and rose to become a formidable force in one day international cricket under the able captaincy of Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson during the last decade.

Carrying on their glorious legacy, The 'Black Caps' continued to impress with their superlative performances at major ICC events, making it to two successive World Cup finals, although they ended up as the losing finalist in both the 2015 and 2019 editions to Australia and England respectively.

The Kiwis ODI lineups boasted of some of the finest cricketers of that decade in Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill; but they always believed in building a winning strategy around collective performances rather than individual brilliance. It indeed was the all-round strength of their ODI unit which turned them into a dangerous opponent for even the best on their day.

So let us have a look at the cricketers who could well be the best fits at their respective positions to make up a Dream Kiwis ODI XI for the decade goneby

1. Belligerent Openers Guptill And McCullum Provide The Pyrotechnics Up The Order

The 'Kiwis' were provided with some electrifying starts up the order from their belligerent openers -  Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum. While the swashbuckling wicket-keeper batsman 'Bazz' McCullum with his brilliant hand eye coordination and nimble footwork used the chip and charge to flay attacks with utter disdain, the classy Guptill was the more refined and elegant stroke-maker, whose penchant lay in hitting those lofty sixes straight down the ground.

The lethal duo provided pyrotechnics and often demoralized opposition attacks with some scintillating power hitting up the order. Meanwhile, hard hitting left-hander Colin Munro was another lethal assaulter who built a reputation of tonking the ball many a miles and playing some absolute blinders up the order.

2. Kane Williamson And Ross Taylor  - Ever Dependable Stabilizers In Middle Order Kane Williamson, the most accomplished and technically sound strokemaker was 'Black Caps' batting behemoth in the middle order.The ever dependable Williamson used his eye catching stroke play and sound temperament to graft runs with effortless ease and often steadied the innings, providing the sheet anchor to his more flamboyant partners.His staggering consistency with the willow earned him a well deserving place alongside Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, David Warner and Babar Azam as a top notch ODI batsman during the decade.For yet another decade, Ross Taylor was the perennial workhorse with the bat for the Kiwis, playing both the grafter and accelerator's role to perfection. The powerfully built Maori who excelled at fortifying a strong foundation could also step up the scoring rate with his pugnacious hitting. Taylor's consistency at notching up runs was second to none and his longevity to perform at the highest level continued to spell bound his teammates and opponents. Amid the big guns; Tom Latham, Grant Elliot, Henry Nicholls and Luke Ronchi were meaningful contributors with the bat for NZ in white ball cricket.

New Zealand Had Some Brutal Power Hitters To Provide Late Flourish Down The Order

New Zealand gave it a real swag down the order with some brutal bludgenors in Corey Anderson, Colin De Grandhomme, Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell Santner all of whom could use the long handle to great effect and produce some whirlwind cameos courtesy their big ball striking.

The 'Islanders' did batted deep as Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee,  Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills were all more than capable with the bat.

The Kiwis were lent depth and balance in their ODI team courtesy a spree of very fine all-rounders in Scott Styris, James Neesham, Colin De Grandhomme, Corey Anderson and Jacob Oram who were equally adept with the willow and red cherry. Boult, Southee And Co. Made For A Fearsome Seam Attack The 'Black Caps' could share honours with the Australians, Indians and South Africans for having the most lethal ODI seam attack that wreaked havoc on opposition in seam friendly conditions back in their den. The deadly pace duo of Tim Southee and Trent Boult were great exponents at swinging and seaming the new ball and getting the early breakthroughs for their team consistently. Meanwhile, injury prone seamer Kyle Mills enjoyed tremendous success in the ODI arena with his uncanny ability to pick up heaps of wickets. The red hot menacing pace of tearaway speedsters Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry was spine chilling and added more venom to an already potent seam attack. Military Medium pacers like James Neesham, Colin De Grandhomme, Jacob Oram and James Franklin added depth and variety to their pace attack on seam friendly decks. Speed demons Hamish Bennett and Adam Milne had their moments under the sun in their sporadic appearances for the Kiwis.

Daniel Vettori Was Their Lone World Class Spinner In Otherwise Seam Heavy Attack

Daniel Vettori was a welcome change to a pretty seam dominated Kiwis attack as the world class left arm spinner cast a web around the best of batsmen with his deceptive flight and looming drift. Vettori hardly erred in length and choked the opposition by bowling some tight spells.

Once Vettori departed, Mitchell Santner became New Zealand's run container in the ODI format with his immaculate control. Meanwhile, Ish Sodhi and Nathan McCullum were the other tweakers of noteworthy recognition for the Kiwis in the past decade.

Early in the decade, the contributions of Jesse Ryder, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Nathan McCullum, James Franklin and Neil Broom in building a strong foundation for the team that bloomed in the second half of the decade is noteworthy. New Zealand Best Probable ODI XI (2010-2019)

Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Colin Munro, Tom Latham, Daniel Vettori, Corey Anderson / Mitchell Santner, Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Trent Boult

Notable Mentions: 

 

Batsmen: Tom Latham,  Henry Nicholls, Grant Elliot,  Luke Ronchi,

Allrounders: Colin de Grandhomme, Nathan McCullum,  Scott Styris, James Neesham, James Franklin

Bowlers: Mitchell McClenaghan, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi, Adam Milne New Zealand ODI Record (2010-2019) Played: 192 Won: 98 Win Percentage: 51% Performance in ICC World Cups (2010-2019 2019 - Finalist,  2015 - Finalist, 2011 - Semifinalists

(Third Best Record After India and Australia)