New Zealand will enter the World Cup feeling optimistic of finally winning it after four and half decades of trying.
Kane Williamson's sentiment was also echoed by one of his senior teammates Ross Taylor, who was also critical of the points system.
The focus will be on K L Rahul and Vijay Shankar, contenders for the number four slot, in the World Cup warm up match against New Zealand, in London, on Saturday.
Images from Day 5 of the first Test between India and New Zealand, at Green Park in Kanpur, on Monday.
Latham, De Grandhomme lead NZ to series sweep of India
The threat of a second successive ODI series whitewash looming large, New Zealand's star batsman Ross Taylor on Thursday said his side is in a "tough situation" against India and if the hosts continue with their dominant show, they are firm favourites to lift next year's World Cup.
Australia cruised to a 19-run victory in a rain-affected Twenty20 tri-series final with New Zealand to claim the world number one ranking in the shortest form of the game for the first time.
Virat Kohli's sparkling century helped India script a 40-run win against an injury-hit New Zealand in the first One-day International to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series in Guwahati on Sunday.
Ross Taylor posted his third hundred in Tests, his first against India. His 151 off 204 balls is his best ever innings in New Zealand. His highest Test score is 154 not out against England at Manchester in May 2008 and his previous highest in New Zealand was 120 at Hamilton in March 2008.
Ross Taylor credited Harbhajan Singh for turning the match in India's favour and said that the last hour, during which the off spinner went hammer and tongs with the bat, foiled New Zealand's plans on the third day of the second Test in Hyderabad.
Dale Steyn grabbed five wickets to lead South Africa to a convincing 204 run-victory over New Zealand in the second test at Centurion on Tuesday that sealed a 1-0 win in the series. Set an unlikely target of 400 to win the match, New Zealand were bowled out for 195 with a day to spare as South Africa kept in tact their record of never losing a series against the Kiwis.
Royal Challengers Bangalore thrashed Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets in Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday to ensure there is no Indian presence in the semi-finals of the inaugural Champions League Twenty20.
Expressing satisfaction over his side's performance in the first Test at Ahmedabad, key New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor on Wednesday said his team would put up a good show against India in the second match starting in Hyderabad from Friday.
India posted a mammoth first innings score before claiming a couple of wickets to continue their domination against New Zealand, on Day 2 of the first Test, at the Sardar Patel stadium, in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Friday.
Veteran Anil Kumble showed the fire in him was still burning as he rallied Royal Challengers from a disastrous start to a runners-up finish in the second season of the IPL. The ace leg spinner was instrumental in the team's revival while veterans Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis also made notable contributions as it finished behind Deccan Chargers.
Statistics emerging from the Indian Premier League (IPL) reveals that for the New Zealand cricketers, the tournament has been the most lucrative.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has succeeded in signing its six Indian Premier League-contracted players, avoiding a possible rift caused by a scheduling clash with Australia's tour of the country next March.
India might be in woeful form right now but New Zealand captain Ross Taylor says the recent poor run would make Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men all the more dangerous when the two sides clash in a do-or-die encounter of the ODI cricket tri-series in Dambulla on Wednesday.
Former captain Martin Crowe has taken over as New Zealand's batting consultant, giving up his job as a cricket commentator to avoid conflict of interest.
The tri-series match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka was called off without a ball being bowled due to persistent rain in Dambulla, on Thursday. The match will have a fresh start on Friday, which has been kept as a reserve day.
New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor on Wednesday said the no-ball controversy would not affect Sri Lanka in Thursday's clash as much as the fatigue factor after playing two successive games.
New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram has developed a tight hamstring and will be a doubtful starter for Friday's ODI tri-series match against Sri Lanka, Black Caps skipper Ross Taylor said in Dambulla.
Ross Taylor captained New Zealand a second time in the opening match of the tri-series against India at Dambulla. And the Black Caps thrashed their more fancied opponents by a whopping 200 runs.
The see-saw match could have gone either way but Andrew Symonds' back-to-back strike tilted the IPL final in Deccan Chargers' favour, believe rival captains Adam Gilchrist and Anil Kumble. Chasing a modest 144, the Royal Challengers Bangalore seemed cruising for victory when Symonds intervened in the 15th over, claiming the crucial wickets of Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli off successive deliveries.
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor will have a unique dilemma at this year's Champions League Twenty20 with the New Zealand batsman having qualified for as many as three teams for the September 10-26 event.
Tom Latham led New Zealand's solid response with an unbeaten 111 against Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 244 on the third day of the second and final Test in Colombo.
Ross Taylor made a valiant 46 as Royal Challengers Bangalore edged past Chennai Super Kings by two wickets in their Indian Premier League match at Kingsmead, Durban on Thursday.
Among top players from different countries playing in the IPL second season, it turns out that English players cost the most, but contributed the least.
Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor calmly guided New Zealand to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Monday.
Live update of the Champions Trophy match between South Africa and New Zealand.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Nagpur, on Monday.
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor's century failed to provide any momentum for the home team, as Australia took a two run lead with ten wickets in hand when bad light stopped play on Day two of the second Test at Hamilton's Seddon Park.
New Zealand struggled to 159 for five on the second day of the second and final Test on Thursday, trailing Sri Lanka by 257 runs after Thilan Samaraweera's century had put the hosts in command.
'It's important we learn from this and when we get back together as a red ball team, we face India and we can hopefully play our brand of cricket'.
Ross Taylor had a winning start to his career as a captain as New Zealand eked out a two-wicket win over trans-Tasman tivals Australia in a closely contested opening one-day international at Napier on Wednesday.
An unwell Trent Boult skipped the New Zealand cricket team's training session at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Monday, staying away from the squad as a precautionary measure. The left-arm pacer is among eight players including Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner, who are attending the first half of the camp that started on Sunday.
Ross Taylor's blistering 78 off 52 balls gave New Zealand a five-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the second One-day International and an unassaible 2-0 lead in the three-match series, in Dunedin, on Monday.
Ross Taylor struck his third one-day century on Tuesday to set New Zealand up for a series-winning 79-run victory in the third limited overs international against Bangladesh.
A valiant 81 not out from man-of-the-match Ross Taylor helped Royal Challengers Bangalore get past Kolkata Knight Riders' formidable total with six wickets remaining in their Indian Premier League match at SuperSport Park, Centurion on Tuesday.
Senior New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor is happy that centurion Tom Latham paid heed to his advice to play the sweep and reverse sweep, which disturbed the length of Indian spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the first One-Day International, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
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