The ICC Champions Trophy gets underway tonight, and the Black Caps are set to face hosts Pakistan in what should be a cracking opening match. I know, I know - it’s rugby season now. The Six Nations is in full swing, Super Rugby is taking over our weekends, and the All Blacks are never far from our minds. But guess what? It’s also still summer. And summer means cricket. More importantly, this tournament means something.
Let’s be honest, white ball cricket has become a revolving door of fixtures that fade from memory almost as soon as they’re played. Case in point - can you remember the last ODI series the Black Caps played? Who was it against? What were the results? If you’re struggling, don’t feel bad. It was just last month, right here in New Zealand, against Sri Lanka. And yet, it barely registered.
That’s the state of modern white ball cricket - drowned in a sea of meaningless bilateral series and never-ending franchise Twenty20 leagues. The greedy fish-heads running the game have turned the format into a forgettable blur, where only World Cups (and, for some of us, the Champions Trophy) actually matter.
And the Champions Trophy does matter. Outside of the quadrennial 50-over World Cup, this is the biggest one-day tournament on the international calendar.
The top eight teams, split into two pools of four. The top two from each pool make the semis, then a final to crown a champion. Simple, straightforward, and significant.
It’s also the only major ICC limited-overs tournament the Black Caps have ever won, back in 2000. That’s right. More than two decades ago, Chris Cairns was smashing India in the final, and we lifted the trophy. Feels like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?
But this time, I want to believe. I need to believe. I’m getting all “Up the Wahs” about this campaign because, frankly, why not? This is the best shot we’ve had at an ICC trophy since we made the 2019 World Cup final (and we all know how that ended - cheers, boundary count rule).
The Black Caps have won all four of their warm-up matches leading into this tournament. That’s right - four from four.
We look in-form, match-ready, and battle-hardened, which is a far cry from our disastrous approach to last year’s T20 World Cup, where we couldn’t be bothered turning up early for warm-up games and were humiliated by Afghanistan.
This time, there’s an edge to this squad. We’re not the best team in the tournament, but we’re handy. Very handy. I’d say we have about as much chance of winning this thing as the Chiefs do of lifting the Super Rugby title - not favorites, but definitely contenders.
Of course, there’s a catch. The time zone absolutely sucks. Matches run from 10pm to around 5am New Zealand time, which means a lot of late-night couch sessions, bleary-eyed score-checking at 3am, and the occasional “just one more over” turning into “well, I guess I’m pulling an all-nighter.”
It’s brutal, but that’s the price of being a diehard fan. And if you’re like me, you’ll take it. Because this one matters.
The key to our success? A strong start. Pakistan, under lights in their own backyard, will be tough. Their quicks will love the conditions, their batters know the pitches inside out, and their fans create an energetic atmosphere.
If we can get past them, it sets the tone for the campaign. We have the experience, the depth, and the temperament for tournament cricket. Kane Williamson, if fit, is still one of the best one-day batters in the world.
Will O'Rourke is forming as one of the best fast bowlers in the world. The likes of Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell give us that much-needed middle order punch. We just need to put it all together when it counts.
So, is this our year? Maybe. The odds are against us, but when has that ever stopped the Black Caps from punching above their weight?
We don’t have the resources of India, the firepower of England, or the home advantage of Pakistan, but what we do have is a history of defying expectations.
We’re scrappers. We’re battlers. And sometimes, just sometimes, we’re winners.
So, I’m all in. I want to believe. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned from following the Black Caps for years, it’s this: they’ll break your heart a hundred times, but on that one occasion when they get it right - it’s magic.
Let’s hope for some magic in the next 19 days. Gaaarrrnnnnn you Black Caps! Catch new episodes of the Devlin Sports Podcast Network (DSPN) every weekday on rova.
