ICC World Cup 2019: New Zealand Will Be a Dark Horse, Admits Shane Warne

Former Australian Cricket team legend Shane Warne believes New Zealand will be a dark horse in the upcoming ICC World Cup in England and Wales starting from May 30. Despite labelling England and India as the title contenders, Warne urged other teams not to write off the Black Caps completely.

Meanwhile, Kane Williamson & Co have done their job without much hullaballoo. Although they lost the ODI series against Virat Kohli and his boys, they have been pretty consistent with their role. They have a good bunch of cricketers who have done well for their teams. Also, Ross Taylor’s return to form will be an added advantage for the Kiwis. The veteran batsman has been in top form right from the start of 2019 and will hope to take it to the pinnacle tournament. Shane Warn noted that New Zealand would perform well despite missing the service of Brendon McCullum. The former wicket-keeper batsman has been one of the best limited-overs batsmen in the history of cricket.

Don’t write off New Zealand

However, Shane Warne urged the cricketing world not too write off New Zealand as they have consistently performed well in the World Cups. Despite hailing the Kiwis, the legendary spinner labelled India and England as the title contenders.

“Obviously they’re going to miss Brendon [McCullum],” Warne told the Herald. “I mean Baz is such a great leader and he’s such a great player, so they’re going to miss him. But you know they’ve got some good players there at the moment. They’re always dangerous.

“[New Zealand] always do well in big ICC events and World Cups. They’re always there or thereabouts. So write them off at your own peril. But I think England and India are the two favourites going into it,” he added.