SWOT Analysis: Here's a look at all factors for New Zealand for their ODI World Cup 2023 campaign

The runners-up of the last edition of the ODI World Cup in 2019, New Zealand are all set to finish their run to win the title in the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023 and crack that left-out code in the historic final of the ODI World Cup 2019. The Kiwis have already started their preparations for the main round of the tournament as they played their first warm-up match against Pakistan on Friday, September 29.

Kane Williamson’s men easily won the warm-up match against the men in green by a margin of 5 wickets, comfortably chasing down the target of 346 runs in the 44^th over of the second innings. Notably, New Zealand will start their run in the ODI World Cup 2023 with the tournament opener against the defending champions, England on Thursday, October 5.

With said that, here we’ll have a look at all the aspects of the Blackcaps, including their strengths and weaknesses with a detailed SWOT analysis.

Strength – Kane Williamson’s Comeback

Kane Williamson (Source: Twitter)

The New Zealand skipper and the batting superstar, Kane Williamson ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while fielding for Gujarat Titans against Chennai Super Kings in the inaugural match of IPL 2023 earlier this year. Since then, he has not been in action in cricket and underwent recovery in New Zealand.

Now, as Williamson has made his comeback with the Blackcaps, it’s going to be a big strength for them in the quest for their maiden ODI World Cup title. Williamson also showed some good form with the bat in the warm-up match against Pakistan. He scored 54 runs off 50 balls, hitting boundaries with the bat. However, he might miss the opening game against England but his comeback is going to be one of the major positives for New Zealand.

Weakness – Tim Southee’s injury and pace bowling

As per the reports, the veteran pacer Tim Southee has recovered from his thumb injury and is set to be included in the New Zealand squad ahead of the upcoming main round of the ODI World Cup 2023. But still, there is uncertainty about Southee’s availability for the first few matches because there are also high chances that his injury might go severe due to some extra load.

If Southee becomes unavailable for a few matches then it might increase extra pressure or put a burden on team management to pick the choices from his fellow pacers, including the likes of Trent Boult, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson.

Opportunities – IPL experience

Trent Boult (Source: Twitter)

Amidst all the concerns and issues with the side, the Blackcaps will also have opportunities to take the benefits. One of those is utilizing the long experience of some senior players in the Indian Premier League. They have been playing here with the various franchises since the inception of the cash-rich Indian franchise tournament.

So, veteran players like Trent Boult, Kane Williamson, and a few others are very familiar with the Indian conditions, including the weather, conditions, and the nature of the game here.

Threat – India’s spin-friendly tracks

India vs New Zealand, 3rd ODI (Image Source: Twitter)

Apart from all this, Kane Williamson’s men might also have to encounter one of the major threats in India during their campaign in the ODI World Cup 2023. Being from a country with most of the seem-friendly surfaces, it would not be easy for the Kiwi batters to cope with the mostly spin-friendly tracks of India.

Meanwhile, the presence of some specialist spinners like India’s Kuldeep Yadav and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan could be a headache for the Kiwis to deal with.