When the Black Caps won the Champions Trophy in 2000, it was their last white-ball ICC championship.
Ponting is optimistic about their chances of winning in upcoming competitions despite the significant distance.
Notably, the Kiwis recently advanced to the 2025 Champions Trophy final before falling to India.
The consistent performance of a New Zealand in ICC tournaments
New Zealand has consistently demonstrated that they are capable of reaching ICC tournament knockout stages. They reached the final of the Champions Trophy, but India defeated them. In the most recent video from the International Cricket Council (ICC), Ponting admitted that prior to the start of this tournament, he underestimated New Zealand’s potential. “I didn’t have New Zealand there and sure enough there they are again,” Ponting said. This shows how surprised he is with their performance and acknowledges their capability on a global stage.
Admiration
Ponting praises New Zealand’s semi-final performance
Ponting also lauded New Zealand’s semi-final performance against South Africa, where they won by 50 runs.
“You probably can’t play one-day cricket better than that. To bat first and make 360-odd, I think it’s the highest total ever in a Champions Trophy game,” said Ponting.
Ponting emphasized that New Zealand’s campaign was impressive and they were not far from victory, despite losing to India in the final.
Factors
Ponting draws attention to the factors that influence New Zealand’s final performance. In addition, Ponting emphasized that Matt Henry, despite being their leading wicket-taker, was unfit for the final, and that New Zealand’s star players failed to deliver. He praised their campaign and said, “If they keep putting themselves there, it’s only a matter of time before they will (win an ICC white-ball tournament).”
Clearly, he believes in their potential for future success.
Ponting continued, “They just came up against a really good team in the final, and they were not far away.” Run
NZ’s performance in recent ICC white-ball competitions In 2015 and 2019, New Zealand reached the ICC ODI World Cup finals, but they were defeated by Australia (super over) and England (by seven wickets, respectively). In 2023, they lost to India by 70 runs in a high-scoring semi-final contest.
Meanwhile, in T20 World Cups, they made the semi-finals in 2016 and 2022 and finished as runners-up in 2021.
They also reached their first Champions Trophy final since finishing second in 2009.