A year of disappointments for New Zealand

New Zealand started the year with a bang and ended it in style. But sandwiched between the two bangs were many disappointments. What would have hurt Mike Hesson and Kane Williamson the most is that the team renowned for punching above its weight, grossly under-performed in the Champions Trophy. New Zealand, like the World T20 last year, promised to go the distance in conditions that favoured them but failed to deliver when it mattered.

While there were series losses at home to South Africa, highs came through bilateral series whitewashes at home against Bangladesh and Windies.

Timeline:

Bangladesh fail to compete

New Zealand started the year with a home series against Bangladesh. Such was the dominance of the hosts that Bangladesh failed to win a single game on tour. New Zealand cantered to 5-0 win in the five-match One-Day International series, won both Tests apart from taking the one-off Twenty20 International as well.

Poor show at home

In times when an away series wins are a rarity, South Africa not only won in New Zealand but also did it in convincing style. AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir starred in the five-match ODI series to lead the visitors to a 3-2 win. In the two-Test series, Keshav Maharaj, Morne Morkel, who returned to cricket after a long injury break, and Kagiso Rabada tormented the hosts. South Africa were saved by rain in the final Test when they were on the verge of losing the game but took the series 1-0.

The Champions Trophy horror

New Zealand warmed-up for the Champions Trophy with a tri-series win in Ireland against the hosts and Bangladesh. Having had the benefit of early acclimatisation, they imploded curiously in the tournament itself, to return empty-handed.

New Zealand's first game was washed away due to rain and soon after they suffered an 87-run loss to England. Desperately needing a win, they had Bangladesh pinned on the mat at 33 for 4 after posting 265. However, they ran into Shakib-Al-Hasan and Mahmudullah, who went on to register arecord-breaking 224-run stand to knock Williamson and his men out of the tournament.

Heartbreak in India

New Zealand are one of the very few sides that push India in India especially in limited-overs cricket. They did so in 2016 and came back to repeat that in 2017. Several teams - England, Australia, and others - have failed but New Zealand somehow manage to put India under pressure in tough conditions.

New Zealand's think-tank did well to prepare for the all-important tour. While they announced nine of the 15 members for the series, they wanted to wait and watch how the New Zealand A boys fared in India. The remaining six were picked on the basis of their performances and that meant the visitors fielded a very strong side.

They started well, winning the ODI in Mumbai, but lost in Pune and a very close encounter in Kanpur. Though they lost in Delhi in the first T20I, they bounced back to hammer India in Rajkot before being spun out of the series in Thiruvananthapuram.

Easing past Windies

New Zealand had no problems dispatching of Windies at the end of the year. They registered massive wins in the two-Test series and then won all three ODIs at a canter.

Best performer: Ross Taylor

Ross Taylor played just five Tests and averaged 81.60 with 407 runs in those games. In the 20 ODIs he played, he scored runs at 60.50 and managed to end with 968 runs but what will disappoint him the most is that he was able to register just two centuries. Seven times he went past fifty, in addition to being in the 40s thrice in these 20 matches. Overall, he scored 1396 runs across formats, more than Kane Williamson, at a more than healthy average of 63.45.

Worst performer: Martin Guptill

Martin Guptill promised a lot when he scored 61 against Australia and then went on to smash an unbeaten 180 against South Africa early in the year. However, since that knock he failed to cross half-century even once. His failures at the top meant New Zealand's chances too were dented. He ended the year with just 439 runs from 13 limited-overs games at an average of 36.58.

Promising player: Jeet Raval

After modest returns against Bangladesh, Jeet Raval showed plenty of promise against South Africa with fighting scores of 53, 36, 80 and 88 in the series. The fact that New Zealand played plenty of limited-overs cricket in between meant he had to wait quite a lot for his next opportunity. After a 42 in the first Test against Windies, he made 84 in the second Test to ensure he was given a longer run. Overall, he scored 475 runs in seven Tests at an average of 43.18.

Looking forward to 2018

Some tough assignments coming up for New Zealand early on in the year and it also promises plenty of fascinating cricket. Pakistan and Australia will be in New Zealand for a limited-overs series while England will tour in March for two Tests, five ODIs and a one-off T20I. They then head to Zimbabwe and UAE (to play Pakistan) before ending the year with a series against Sri Lanka at home.