Tim Southee's 7-Wicket Haul Highlights New Zealand's World Cup Credentials

Have you referred to New Zealand as “dark horses” for the World Cup lately? If you have, don’t be ashamed, you are not alone. In the build-up to the tournament, New Zealand were almost everybody’s “dark horse” team.

But we were all wrong. New Zealand are not dark horses. They are genuine contenders for the World Cup. With a bulky batting lineup, one of the best bowling attacks at the tournament and the home ground advantage, New Zealand are a force to be reckoned with and they have shown exactly why in the three World Cup fixtures they have played thus far.

In their opening match against Sri Lanka, their batsmen set the tone before the bowlers did the rest. In their second match against Scotland, their bowlers did their bit despite the wobbling form of their batsmen. Then, in their most recent outing against England, where they won by a whopping eight wickets with 226 balls to spare, New Zealand's Tim Southee almost blasted his team to success all on his own, taking seven wickets for just 33 runs.

It was the most wickets taken by a New Zealand player in ODIs and third best of any bowler in World Cups.  It was a superb effort of yorkers and inswinging deliveries which even the best batting attack in the world would have had a tough time seeing off. Sure, England were poor, but Southee’s bowling was exceptional.

But Southee wasn’t the only one to impress on Friday. Brendon McCullum stepped up for the chase, hitting 50 off just 18 balls, the fastest ever in a World Cup. He continued to plunder his way to 77 off 25 before being clean bowled by Chris Woakes, but the damage was already done and some felt that McCullum should have been allowed to stay on to finish the job.

The end result wasn’t pretty for England, but it was important for New Zealand. They have sent a strong message to their opponents that they are not to be taken lightly in this tournament. The balance of a reliable top order, a lower order power hitter in Corey Anderson, the opening bowling combination of Southee and Trent Boult and the spin bowling experience of Daniel Vettori means New Zealand have every chance to lift the trophy.

Southee believes the way the team is playing is all down to their skipper. He was quoted by ESPN Cricinfo as saying:

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We've seen over the last however long Brendon has been in charge, he's an aggressive captain and the way he plays his cricket is aggressive. As bowlers that gives you the confidence to go out knowing the captain is right in behind you with setting these attacking fields.

Our fielding, it's an attitude. We've prided ourselves on being one of the best fielding sides in the world for a number of years now. It is an attitude thing that's led by Brendon himself, the way he throws himself around in the field. And if he's doing that then it sets the standard for the rest of the team to follow.

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New Zealand next face co-hosts and tournament favourites Australia in Auckland. If they manage to pull off another scintillating performance against their neighbours, the tournament might have new favourites knocking on the door.