The New Zealand cricket team was praised by star batsman Ross Taylor for performing well consistently at the top level despite being a nation with a comparatively small population. Taylor recognizes that “The Underdogs” tag suits the team very well and Kiwis perform better with their backs against the wall.
Although the New Zealand cricket team has failed to win a major ICC trophy in the last few years, their performance has never gone down; they have amazed everyone with their exceptional performance over the years.
The Black Caps were finalists in the last 2 ODI World cups and the World Test Championship final will be the third big final for them where they will keep an eye on finally winning the trophy. Meanwhile, The only major ICC trophy NZ won was the ICC champions trophy back in 2000-01 under the captaincy of Stephen Fleming.
In a short clip shared by International Cricket Council (ICC), Ross Taylor said that Kiwis enjoy being the underdogs.
“5 million playing against 1.4 billion. For us to even get a side that can compete consistently is a testament to everybody. We love being the underdogs, that’s just the Kiwi psyche. I think we play better when our backs are against the wall. Being favorites probably doesn’t sit with us as well as it does with other teams. We like to be the underdogs and go under the radar a little,” said the New Zealand star.
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"For us to sit here again, in another final of an ICC event, is very satisfying."
Hear what the @BLACKCAPS have to say ahead of the exciting #WTC21 Final 👇 pic.twitter.com/v8XuuTzAmi
— ICC (@ICC) June 18, 2021
Everyone talks about their favorites but very rarely are New Zealand mentioned- Tim Southee
Kiwi pacer Tim Southee pinpointed New Zealand is not considered a favorite going into a major ICC tournament. However, this doesn’t affect the team as Kane Williamson and the company tries to focus more on what’s happening inside the team environment.
“You always turn up at World Cups and ICC events, everyone talks about their favorite but very rarely are New Zealand mentioned. But it’s fine with us, it doesn’t bother us as a side. We worry about what’s going on inside our environment and what we are trying to achieve as aside.
We always turn at every event trying to win it like every other side. It’s nice to be consistent in our performances over the last few events,” Southee said in a video shared by the ICC
It's still raining at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton as we await the start of play ⛈️#WTC21 Final | #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/CTSezyi4VZ
— ICC (@ICC) June 18, 2021
The first session of the World Test Championship India Vs New Zealand at Southampton was washed out, and conditions look bleak so far on Day 1.
