New Zealand at World Cup: Black Caps lost in the semi-finals 5 times before making first final in 2015

The 12th edition of the ICC World Cup is set to kick off in England on May 30. The number of teams participating in the mega event has been reduced to 10 this year which means not all Test-playing nations are playing it, which is a first. All ten teams will play against each other with the top four finishers making it to the semi-finals. The inaugural match will be played between hosts England and South Africa while the final will be played at Lord’s on July 14.

Here we take a look at how New Zealand, the team ranked third in the ICC’s ODI table at the moment, has done in the showpiece event over the decades. The Black Caps finished as the runners-up in the 2015 edition played Down Under after making their first final. They have always been a dark horse in the WC but got stuck in the semi-finals five times having played 80 matches at the WC and won 48 of them. They lost 31 while one game was inconclusive.

World Cup 1975- NZ lost to Windies in semi-finals:

Led by Glenn Turner, New Zealand won two of their three matches in the group stages, beating East Africa by 181 runs and India by 4 wickets (Turner hit centuries on both occasions) while they lost to hosts England by 80 runs. In the semi-finals, the Kiwis were well-placed against the eventual champions West Indies at 98 for 1 but then witnessed a dramatic collapse to get bowled out for only 158. The Caribbeans won by 5 wickets a game that promised a lot of action.

World Cup 1979- NZ lost to England in semi-finals:

New Zealand were led in the second edition of the WC by batsman and off-break bowler Mark Burgess and their campaign this time was a photocopy of the first. The Kiwis thrashed two Asian opponents – Sri Lanka and India – by 9 and 8 wickets, respectively, but lost the final group game to the West Indies by 32 runs.

Advancing to the semi-finals as the group runners, the Kiwis met hosts England. New Zealand had the hosts in a spot but eventually could not capitalise and lost by 9 runs while chasing a moderate target of 222 in 60 overs. John Wright was the highest scorer for NZ in the game with 69.

World Cup 1983- NZ failed to proceed beyond group stage:

Led by batsman Geoff Howarth, New Zealand were clubbed with England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Group A of the tournament. They started off badly by losing to England by 106 runs but then went on to defeat Pakistan (by 52 runs), Sri Lanka (5 wickets), England (2 wickets) to brighten the chances to qualify for the semi-final.

But a shocking 3-wicket loss to a low-ranked Sri Lanka in their penultimate match and an 11-run loss in the final group match against Pakistan saw them crashing out of the fray. New Zealand finished with same points as second-place holder Pakistan but lost out on an inferior Net Run-Rate.

World Cup 1987- NZ failed to qualify beyond group stage:

It was one of the worst World Cups for the Black Caps till date. They played under Jeff Crowe in this edition but could win only two out of their six games in the group with both wins coming over a low-placed Zimbabwe (by 3 runs and 4 wickets). They lost twice each against hosts India and eventual champions Australia with some of the results going narrowly against them.

They lost to India (by 16 runs), Australia (3 runs) and Australia (17 runs). Their final match of the group against India was a dead game but it was made memorable by Chetan Sharma’s hat-trick and Sunil Gavaskar’s century (his only in ODI cricket). NZ lost that match by 9 wickets.

World Cup 1992- NZ lost to Pakistan in semi-finals:

It was the best WC New Zealand had till the 2015 edition when they played the finals. They were led by Martin Crowe in this edition which was played at their home and they thrashed every opponent (Australia by 37 runs; Sri Lanka by 6 wickets; South Africa by 7 wickets; Zimbabwe by 48 runs; Windies by 5 wickets; India by 4 wickets and England by 7 wickets) till the final league match against Pakistan which they lost by 7 wickets.

The Kiwis met Imran Khan’s Pakistan once again in the semi-finals and it was a heartbreak for them despite a splendid 91 from Crowe. A young Inzamam-ul-Haq played the innings of his life (60 off 37) to take Pakistan to their first-ever final and they won the tournament that year.

World Cup 1996- NZ lost to Australia in quarter-finals:

The Kiwis were led this time by Lee Germon, a player who otherwise had a short international career, and they started off well with an 11-run victory over England. In the next match, they thumped debutants Netherlands by 119 runs but lost to South Africa by 5 wickets. New Zealand’s next win the group came over another debutant team UAE who they hammered by 109 runs. In the final game, they lost to co-hosts Pakistan by 46 runs to finish third in the group and advance to the quarters.

In the quarters, New Zealand met trans-Tasman rivals Australia in Chennai and it was a cracker of a game. Batting first, the Kiwis scored 286 powered by a magnificent hundred by Chris Harris and 89 from skipper Germon. However, Mark Waugh’s counter ton dashed their hopes of making the semi-finals as they lost by 6 wickets.

World Cup 1999- NZ lost to Pakistan in semi-finals:

Stephen Fleming was the captain in this edition played in England and the Kiwis won three of their five matches in Group B (beat Bangladesh by 6 wickets; Australia by 5 wickets and Scotland by 6 wickets). New Zealand lost to the Windies by 7 wickets and Pakistan by 62 runs but yet qualified for the Super Six as the third team from the group after Pakistan and Australia. In the Super Six, the Kiwis had to share valuable points with Zimbabwe as their game was washed out.

They were thrashed by the Proteas by 74 runs in the next game but came back well to beat India by 5 wickets in the final match to advance to the last four. However, their ill luck against the Asians since the 1992 WC continued as they were humiliated by 9 wickets in the semi-final even after scoring a decent score of 240-plus, thanks to an unbeaten ton from Saeed Anwar.

World Cup 2003- NZ failed to progress beyond Super Six stage:

Led by Fleming again, the Kiwis started poorly by losing to Sri Lanka by 47 runs in the first match of the group (B). However, they were soon back on track beating the West Indies by 20 runs and then a brilliant unbeaten ton from Fleming saw them crushing co-hosts South Africa in a rain-hit game.

NZ then forfeited their match against Kenya in Nairobi because of safety reasons. But that did not hurt the team’s chances of making the next stage as they beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets and Canada by 5 wickets in their final two games. In the Super Six stage, New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by 6 wickets but had two consecutive batting collapses against Australia and India to lose by 96 runs and 7 wickets, respectively, to crash out of the race for a semi-final spot.

World Cup 2007- NZ lost to Sri Lanka in the semi-finals:

Fleming led the side for the third consecutive WCs and they had a dream start to this edition, winning all three games in the group that had England, Kenya and Canada. They beat England by 6 wickets; Kenya by 148 runs and Canada by 114 runs to go Super Eights as the group champions. NZ played six games in the Super Eights and had a mixed performance there. They started off well by a series of wins (over Windies by 7 wickets; Bangladesh by 9 wickets; Ireland by 129 runs) but lost to Sri Lanka by 6 wickets.

The Black Caps then had a much-needed win over South Africa by 5 wickets but were hammered by Australia, the eventual champions, by 215 runs in their final game. In the semi-final, New Zealand were outplayed by Sri Lanka as a century by skipper Mahela Jayawardene saw them losing by 81 runs.

World Cup 2011- NZ lost to Sri Lanka in semi-finals:

New Zealand were led by Daniel Vettori and the team tumbled in yet another semi-final, their sixth overall. In the group stage, the Black Caps beat both Kenya and Zimbabwe by 10 wickets, Pakistan by 110 runs (first time since 1983 and after five defeats) and Canada by 97 runs but lost to Australia by 7 wickets and Sri Lanka by 112 runs.

They qualified for the quarter-finals as the fourth team but had a magnificent win over the other group’s champions South Africa by 49 runs. But the Black Caps had yet another heartbreak in the semi-finals as the Lankans beat them by 5 wickets.

World Cup 2015- NZ lost to Australia in finals:

The WC was back Down Under and NZ had all the encouragement to take from their 1992 heroics. Captained by Brendon McCullum, the Kiwis reran the history 23 years later by winning all games in the group stage (they beat Sri Lanka by 98 runs; Scotland by 3 wickets; England by 8 wickets; Australia by 1 wicket; Afghanistan by 6 wickets and Bangladesh by 3 wickets). Their performance till then was matched only by India who also ran unbeaten in the group stage.

In the quarter-finals, the Kiwis hammered the Windies by 143 runs, thanks to a double hundred from Martin Guptill and they followed it up with a thrilling win over South Africa in the semi-finals, thanks to Grant Elliott’s heroics. However, the nervous energy did them in their first-ever final as the Kiwis were all out for just 183 in the final against Australia and lost by 7 wickets.

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