Tournament review: New Zealand

Continuing our tournament reviews, here is an assessment of how New Zealand did.Did better than probably even they expected to reach the semi-finals, beating Pakistan and South Africa. Ross Taylor’s 131* against Pakistan was one of the innings of the tournament but Jesse Ryder and especially Brendan McCullum did too little to support him. With the ball, Dan Vettori disappointed somewhat, but the unheralded Nathan McCullum was outstanding in the victory over South Africa, as was Jacob Oram. And, in the great Kiwi tradition, the fielding was terrific.

[b]Star man
[/b]Bowling coach Allan Donald’s praise â€" that Tim Southee “could become the best swing bowler in world cricket” is understandable. With late movement allied to pace, Southee was never short of wicket-taking venom, taking 18 wickets at an average of 17, including 3/25 against Pakistan.

[b]Disappointment
[/b]Opening the batting, McCullum was too often guilty of injudicious shot selection, failing to pass 16 in five innings against quarter-final qualifiers.

[b]Prospects
[/b]The wily John Wright has already made a difference as coach. Though Vettori has quite as ODI captain, with Taylor the likely replacement, New Zealand will be optimistic about continuing their improvement, especially if Southee, Ryder and Kane Williamson develop.