WTC Final: Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook back New Zealand to win the mega event

Apart from Scott Styris, Former England captains Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook too have backed New Zealand to win the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final against India. The reason given by the duo was the ability of the Kiwis to be disciplined over a long period of time during the five days of the Test.

Vaughan and Cook’s support to New Zealand is a no-brainer as the team had recently beaten England 1-0. During that fascinating series, the Blackcaps didn’t give any freebies whatsoever for England batters to work on. All their pace bowlers Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, and Kyle Jamieson, were right at it with hitting those lines and lengths consistently.

Vaughan also added that not only with the ball, New Zealand have been equally good with the bat with various players stepping up and doing their job well. The likes of Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, and the latest entrant Devon Conway have performed well even when their captain Kane Williamson is not performing.

“I fancy New Zealand. I know I’m going to get absolute pelters on social media for going against India. But the way New Zealand played in the two Tests against England, I think they’re going to do it. They are a high-class cricket team – I like every aspect of their game,” Vaughan told ‘BBC’.

“New Zealand play long periods of disciplined cricket, with bat and ball. They bat with a great maturity and read the situation perfectly.

Alastair Cook feels New Zealand’s sharpness will work well in the WTC Final

On the other hand, Cook feels their recent strong performances against England in very similar conditions will keep Williamson and company in a sharp frame of mind, ahead of the marquee clash. The southpaw further elaborated on their squad selection, saying they might be tempted to play Ajaz Patel rather than going with four pace bowlers.

“New Zealand are going to win. They’re two matches further into match-sharpness after the series win against England – they’re used to playing under pressure and in English conditions.”

“The only thing they’ve got to deal with is the selection question – and getting the balance of the side right. I hope they go in with Ajaz Patel, the left-arm spinner.