Underdogs New Zealand ‘can beat anyone on our day’

Melie Kerr, a top-five to ten-year-old New Zealand player, says they can continue to challenge at ICC tournaments and that we will “see the best of them” in the coming months and years.

After emerging as the surprise T20 World Cup winners in 2024, the White Ferns enter the 50-over World Cup chasing an unexpected double.

They won their first T20 title in men’s or women’s cricket after going 10-10 defeats in the previous competition before defeating South Africa in the final to claim their first ICC trophy since 2000.

New Zealand are not among the favorites to win the World Cup despite their triumph, which occurred two years after winning bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Kerr will be happy to accept that position if they fall back on their radar and win another trophy.

“Everyone that plays in a World Cup wants to win, but that T20 World Cup was fantastic,” Kerr said to BBC Sport.

“People overlook New Zealand, and we’re not referred to as favorites, so we can use that as inspiration for our work,” he said, “and we’re just working quietly behind the scenes and going out there and expressing ourselves when we have the chance.”

You’re going to see the best of this group in the next five to ten years, according to the statement from the group’s representative.

In the run-up to the World Cup, New Zealand’s ODI performance has been subpar.

They haven’t played an official ODI since March and have won 11 of their 29 matches since leaving the group stage in 2022. That includes losing seven of their previous ten complete outings.

However, head coach Ben Sawyer doesn’t care about New Zealand’s form or comparative inconsistency, even though he acknowledges that Australia, India, and England are the three teams in the ICC rankings and are deserved favorites.

According to Sawyer, who spoke on the BBC World Service podcast Stumped, “They’re the three standouts.”

“But the beauty of a World Cup is that you can only defeat each of those teams once, and occasionally only can you defeat them on the final day.

We believe we can win any situation.

Like Kerr, Sawyer doesn’t mind that his country’s expectations are unrealistic, stating that “that’s how the Kiwis like it,” but he is less enthusiastic about the “underdog” tag as a result of Matthew Mott’s profound message to former Australia women and England men head coach before the 2024 final.

He reminds Sawyer that he said, “don’t enter this final as underdogs, you want to attack from the front.”

We sat and watched every boundary, every wicket we’d taken, every catch we’d taken, and it seemed like we had done this, and we had just to do it again that morning.

With veteran Sophie Devine who will retire from the sport after the tournament, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu were chosen along with four players under the age of 23.

Kerr, who is only 24 years old, is anticipated to be one of their top performers. Only sister Jess has taken more than her 23 wickets in sub-continental conditions, and she’s proven herself in sub-continental conditions with outstanding contributions to Mumbai Indians’ two Women’s Premier League titles, making her New Zealand’s leading ODI run-scorer since the previous World Cup (927 runs).

However, Kerr chose to watch two of her younger team-mates: wicketkeeper Izzy Gaze and left-hander Georgia Plimmer, who had the highest run-scorer total at the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Georgia Plimmer and I live together. She came out at that World Cup and did awesome, Kerr continued. She had a lot of difficult times right off the bat. She works hard and aspires to excel.

Izzy Gaze “has real leadership potentials.” She has put in a lot of effort with the gloves, and she plays 360-degrees with the bat.