Ricky Ponting predicts imminent ICC white-ball title for New Zealand
What's the story
Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting believes New Zealand's wait for an ICC white-ball title will soon come to an end.
The Black Caps last won a white-ball ICC title back in 2000 when they clinched the Champions Trophy.
Despite the long gap, Ponting is confident about their potential success in future tournaments.
Notably, the Kiwis also recently made it to the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy but lost against India.
Here's more.
Consistency
New Zealand's consistent performance in ICC tournaments
New Zealand have always proved they are capable of reaching the knockout stages of ICC tournaments. In the recently concluded Champions Trophy, they reached the final but lost to India.
Ponting confessed he underestimated New Zealand's potential before this tournament started, "I didn't have New Zealand there and sure enough there they are again," Ponting said in the latest ICC Review video..
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 a better game of one-day cricket than that. To bat first and make 360-odd, I think it's the highest total ever in a Champions Trophy game," said Ponting.
Despite losing to India in the final, Ponting emphasized that New Zealand's campaign was impressive and they were not far from victory.
Factors
Ponting highlights factors affecting New Zealand's final performance
Further, Ponting highlighted that New Zealand's star players failed to deliver in the final and Matt Henry wasn't fit for it, despite being their leading wicket-taker.
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.
"They just came up against a really good team in the final, and they weren't far away," Ponting added.
Run
NZ's run in the recent ICC white-ball events
New Zealand reached the ICC ODI World Cup finals in 2015 and 2019 but lost to Australia (by seven wickets) and England (Super Over), 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.