New Zealand are the nearly men of global tournaments, losing both of the last two 50-over World Cup finals.

Kane Williamson's side were only beaten by England after a series of freakish events went against them during the Lord's showdown in 2019 — eventually losing on boundary countback — and they also lost to Australia in 2015.

But it would take a stunning effort to end their search for a World Cup trophy this year, considering that conditions are not in their favour and star players are ageing.

The Kiwis have only progressed to the semi-final once in the three ODI World Cups ever to be hosted in Asia.

Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and Colin de Grandhomme have moved aside since that 2019 defeat, while Williamson returns after a serious knee injury which has kept him out for six months.

Trent Boult and Tim Southee, both 34, form part of the Kiwis' bowling unit.

Squad

New Zealand's 15-player World Cup squad: Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.

Fixtures

October 5, 9:30am: England (Ahmedabad)

October 9, 9.30am: Netherlands (Hyderabad)

October 13, 9.30am: Bangladesh (Chennai)

October 18, 9.30am: Afghanistan (Chennai)

October 22, 9.30am: India (Dharamsala)

October 28, 6am: Australia (Dharamsala)

November 1, 8.30am: South Africa (Pune)

November 4, 5.00am: Pakistan (Bengaluru)

November 9, 8.30am: Sri Lanka (Bengaluru)

The skipper

Williamson comes into this competition with less match practice than any other star player, having not played a competitive match since he was injured in the IPL in March.

And though the 33-year-old is a world-class run-scorer, there were already niggling doubts about his ability to innovate and score quickly enough for the modern game.

Still, in foreign conditions, it is a positive for New Zealand that their skipper is back in the mix for the World Cup, where his calmness and ability to accumulate runs will be important to their chances.

His leadership is arguably even more vital.

Not only did he take his side to the verge of glory four years ago but his win rate of 50.57% as captain is the third-best of any Kiwi to take charge of more than one ODI since 1990. 

One to watch

Glenn Phillips has been a regular in New Zealand's ODI side since 2022 but this tournament gives him the chance to propel himself to stardom.

The 26-year-old certainly turned heads during his side's recent white-ball tour of England, top-scoring for his team in the T20 series and finishing third in the 50-over matches.

Phillips can bowl some useful spin, too, and his superb fielding makes him a valuable addition to the side.

Incredibly talented, the South Africa-born Kiwi is capable of making a winning contribution in all three aspects of the game.